Mapping Longitudinal Inhomogeneity in Nanostructures Using Cross-Sectional Spatial Raman Imaging

The presence of structural inhomogeneity and physical phenomena therein taking place at the microscopic level is very difficult to identify simultaneously using a holistic technique. Raman microscopy has been developed here and established for this purpose; it has been shown to successfully work on n- and p-type silicon nanowires, a well-known system otherwise, prepared using a chemical technique. A Raman microscopic image not only shows the presence of inhomogeneity in the nanocrystallites' size but also quantifies the size and its effect on microscopic quantum phenomena. The Raman image has been shown to be a good blend of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques.