Temperature dependence of Raman scattering in β-(AlGa)2O3 thin films

We report a detailed investigation on temperature-dependent Raman scattering of β-(AlGa)2O3 thin films with different Al content (0-0.72) under the temperature range of 77-300 K. The temperature-dependent Raman shifts and linewidths of the phonon modes were obtained by employing Lorentz fitting. The linewidths broadening of phonon modes with the temperature can be well explained by a model involving the effects of thermal expansion, lattice-mismatch-induced strain, and decay of optical phonon into two and three phonons. It is clearly demonstrated dependence of the linewidths and decay process on the Al content in β-(AlGa)2O3 thin films, which can provide an experimental basis for realization of (AlGa)2O3-based optoelectronic device applications.