Light depolarization effects in tip enhanced Raman spectroscopy of silicon (001) and gallium arsenide (001)

We report on the effects of light depolarization induced by sharp metallic tips in Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS). Experiments on Si(001) and GaAs(001) crystals show that the excitation field depolarization induces a selective enhancement of specific Raman modes, depending on their Raman tensor symmetry. A complete polarization analysis of the light backscattered from the tip confirms the TERS findings. The spatial confinement of the depolarization field is studied and its dependence on the excitation wavelength and power are explored