Interfacial and Confined Optical Phonons in Wurtzite Nanocrystals

We derive within the dielectric-continuum model an integral equation that defines interface and confined polar optical-phonon modes in nanocrystals with wurtzite crystal structure. It is demonstrated theoretically, that while the frequency of confined polar optical phonons in zincblende nanocrystals is equal to that of the bulk crystal phonons, the confined polar optical phonons in wurtzite nanocrystals have a discrete spectrum of frequencies different from those of the bulk crystal. The calculated frequencies of confined polar optical phonons in wurtzite ZnO nanocrystals are found to be in an excellent agreement with the experimental resonant Raman scattering spectra of spherical ZnO quantum dots.