Correlative photoluminescence and micro-Raman spectroscopy determining disorder from two-dimensional heterostructures to rare-earth minerals

Atomic composition and structural arrangement determine the correlation of electronic and lattice degrees of freedom in solids. With combined photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy, simultaneous insight into electronic properties and structural disorder can be gained. Here, we use micro-Raman imaging to study spatial heterogeneity in structural disorder in the rare-earth mineral gadolinite as determined from correlative peak position and spectral linewidth analysis. We find the disorder associated with spatial variability in light and heavy rare earth element content. We then use micro-PL to investigate the effect of a plasmonic nano-slit on the excitonic landscape in a two-dimensional heterostructure of transition metal dichalcogenides and identify plasmonic enhancement of both intralayer and interlayer exciton emission as well as strain-induced spectral variations. In summary, this work demonstrates the combination of micro-PL and micro-Raman imaging to understand electronic and structural properties and disorder in crystal materials.