Resonant Exciton Scattering Reveals Raman Forbidden Phonon Modes in Layered GeS

J Phys Chem Lett. 2023 May 4;14(17):3986-3994. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00783. Epub 2023 Apr 21.

Abstract

Germanium monosulfide with an anisotropic puckered crystalline structure has recently attracted much attention due to its unique optical and electronic properties; however, exciton-phonon interactions were only superficially elucidated. We study the resonant Raman scattering and the photoluminescence of the optically active Γ-exciton in layered GeS flakes and evaluate the exciton and phonon responses on variations in the excitation energy, laser-light and emission polarizations, temperature, and laser power. A double-resonance mechanism allows for observing Raman forbidden (dark) first- and second-order longitudinal-optical phonon modes whose symmetries and energies are moreover calculated by density functional perturbation theory. For (quasi)-resonant exciton excitation, the selection rules become relaxed so that a fourth-order Fröhlich intraband process is mediated by the scattering of the electron with a longitudinal-optical and an acoustic phonon. Our results demonstrate considerable coupling between phonons and photogenerated carriers in GeS flakes and the high efficiency of multiorder scattering in optical processes.