Raman scattering from anisotropic LO-phonon–plasmon–coupled mode in n-type 4H– and 6H–SiC

Abstract
LO‐phonon–plasmon–coupled modes in n‐type 4H– and 6H–SiC single crystals with free‐carrier concentrations of 1016–1018 cm−3 have been measured by Raman scattering at room temperature. The axial‐type mode for which plasma oscillation and atomic displacement are parallel to the c axis, and the planar‐type mode for which these oscillations lie in the c plane, have been individually observed. From a line‐shape analysis of the observed spectra, the plasmon frequency, carrier damping, and phonon damping have been deduced. These quantities have large differences between the axial‐ and planar‐type mode in 6H–SiC, indicating its large crystal anisotropy. On the contrary, 4H–SiC shows small anisotropy. The longitudinal and transverse effective mass components of the electron have been determined from the plasmon frequency using carrier densities derived from Hall measurements. The deduced values are m=1.4m0 and m=0.35m0 for 6H–SiC, and m=0.48m0 and m=0.30m0 for 4H–SiC. The carrier mobility obtained from the analysis is also anisotropic. This is consistent with reported electrical measurements.