Raman scattering of perovskite DyScO3 and GdScO3 single crystals

We report an investigation of DyScO3 and GdScO3 single crystals by Raman scattering in various scattering configurations and at various wavelengths. The Raman spectra are well-defined and the reported spectral signature together with the mode assignment sets the basis for the use of Raman scattering for the investigation of RE-scandates. The observed positions of Raman modes for DyScO3 are for most bands in reasonable agreement with recent theoretical ab initio predictions of the vibrational spectrum for the same material. Further to the phonon signature, a luminescence signal is observed for both scandates. While the luminescence is weak for DyScO3, it is very intense for GdScO3 when using a 488 or 514 nm excitation line, which in turn inhibits full analysis of the phonon spectrum. We show that a meaningful phonon Raman analysis of GdScO3 samples can be done by using a 633 nm excitation.