Symmetry in Raman scattering from the optical phonon in single crystal beryllium

Abstract

We have measured the polarization of the Raman active optical mode of the single crystal, beryllium, at room temperature. To our knowledge, this is the first such measurement for a single crystal metal. We find the Raman tensor to obey the symmetry laws as outlined for a transparent insulator. After presentation of the experimental techniques and results, a discussion is given relating the symmetry results to the theory of Raman processes in metals.