Enhanced Raman scattering from nano-SnO₂ grains

We present the Raman spectra of nano-SnO_2 grains with sizes from 4nm to 80nm excited by 532nm and 1.06μm lines. The enhanced Raman scattering of the nanograins is observed for both exciting lines when the grain size is less than 8nm. The less the grain size is, the more intensely the Raman scattering is enhanced. According to our results, the enhancements of the Raman intensity are a few tenfolds and different for different exciting lines when the grain size is 4nm. It can be attributed to enhanced Raman scattering by electron－hole pair excitations in the nanograins that originate from sub-microscopic (10nm) size and other defect- and surface-related features. A critical size that divides respective predominance of bulk properties and the defect-, surface-, and size-related features can be determined to be about 8nm.