Raman scattering of rare earth sesquioxide Ho2O3: A pressure and temperature dependent study

Pressure and temperature dependent Raman scattering studies on Ho2O3 have been carried out to investigate the structural transition and the anharmonic behavior of the phonons. Ho2O3 undergoes a transition from cubic to monoclinic phase above 15.5 GPa, which is partially reversible on decompression. The anharmonic behavior of the phonon modes of Ho2O3 from 80 K to 440 K has been investigated. We find an anomalous line-width change with temperature. The mode Gruneisen parameter of bulk Ho2O3 was estimated from high pressure Raman investigation up to 29 GPa. Furthermore, the anharmonic components were calculated from the temperature dependent Raman scattering.