Anharmonicity in GaTe layered crystals

The temperature dependencies (10-300 K) of seven Raman-active mode frequencies in layered semiconductor gallium telluride have been measured in the frequency range from 25 to 300 cm -1. Softening and broadening of the optical phonon lines are observed with increasing temperature. Comparison between the experimental data and theories of the shift of the phonon lines during heating of the crystal showed that the experimental dependencies can be explained by contributions from thermal expansion and lattice anharmonicity. Lattice anharmonicity is determined to be due to three-phonon processes.