Size and environment dependence of surface phonon modes of gallium arsenide nanowires as measured by Raman spectroscopy

Gallium arsenide nanowires were synthesized by gallium-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. By varying the growth time, nanowires with diameters ranging from 30 to 160 nm were obtained. Raman spectra of the nanowire ensembles were measured. The small linewidth of the optical phonon modes agree with an excellent crystalline quality. A surface phonon mode was also revealed, as a shoulder at lower frequencies of the longitudinal optical mode. In agreement with the theory, the surface mode shifts to lower wavenumbers when the diameter of the nanowires is decreased or the environment dielectric constant increased.