Raman spectroscopy investigation of size effects in cubic boron nitride

Raman spectra were taken of cubic boron nitride (c-BN) crystals with diameters between 100 nm and 1 mm. The Raman line shape of the optical phonons was found to become increasingly asymmetric towards lower frequency shifts, broader and weaker with decreasing crystal diameters. The results can be explained in terms of a spatial correlation model. The corresponding correlation lengths lie in the nanometer range, i.e. several orders of magnitude below the actual crystallite sizes as determined by electron microscopy, thus revealing a high defect density. An additional examined typical c-BN film on a Si(100) substrate exhibits even weaker and broader structures consistent with an even higher defect density.