Raman-scattering study of the order-disorder phase transition in KSCN

Raman measurements were performed from room temperature to above the phase transition at 413 K on KSCN crystals. The internal mode spectra reveal a sideband above the internal CN stretching vibration which shows softening in frequency approaching the phase transition, while the CN mode shifts toward higher frequencies. Given that the sideband is a two-phonon process, involving an off-zone-center CN stretching mode and a lattice phonon, the substantial softening in its frequency shift indicates the possibility of an off-zone-center lattice instability related to the order-disorder phase transition. An anomalous temperature dependence was also found for the intensity of both the CN mode and the sideband. The relatively high intensity of the sideband was analyzed in terms of a substantial Fermi resonance coupling between the internal mode and the sideband.