UV Raman Microscopy of Zincblende Magnesium Sulphide

The first Raman scattering studies of zincblende magnesium sulphide (MgS) have been carried out and lead to the identification of its zone-centre LO phonon frequency. Several overtone and combination bands are observed and lead to the identification also of its zone-centre TO phonon frequency. It is demonstrated that the Raman scattering is strongly resonant at the excitation energy used (5.08 eV), thereby confirming present estimates of the band gap of zincblende MgS. Finally, the phonon frequencies observed are compared to the results of calculations.