Polarization dependence of double resonant Raman scattering band in bilayer graphene

The polarization dependence of the double resonant Raman scattering (2D) band in bilayer graphene (BLG) is studied as a function of the excitation laser energy. It has been known that the complex shape of the 2D band of BLG can be decomposed into four Lorentzian peaks with different Raman frequency shifts attributable to four individual scattering paths in the energy-momentum space. From our polarization dependence study, however, we reveal that each of the four different peaks is actually doubly degenerate in its scattering channels, i.e., two different scattering paths with similar Raman frequency shifts for each peak. We find theoretically that one of these two paths, ignored for a long time, has a small contribution to their scattering intensities but are critical in understanding their polarization dependences. Because of this, the maximum-to-minimum intensity ratios of the four peaks show a strong dependence on the excitation energy, unlike the case of single-layer graphene (SLG). Our findings thus reveal another interesting aspect of electron-phonon interactions in graphitic systems. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.