Low frequency Raman spectroscopy of few-atomic-layer thick hBN crystals

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has recently gained a strong interest as a strategic component in engineering van der Waals heterostructures built with 2D crystals such as graphene. This work reports micro-Raman measurements on hBN flakes made of a few atomic layers, prepared by mechanical exfoliation. The temperature dependence of the Raman scattering in hBN is investigated first such as to define appropriate measurements conditions suitable for thin layers avoiding undesirable heating induced effects. We further focus on the low frequency Raman mode corresponding to the rigid shearing oscillation between adjacent layers, found to be equal to 52.5 cm^-1 in bulk hBN. For hBN sheets with thicknesses below typically 4 nm, the frequency of this mode presents discrete values, which are found to decrease down to 46.0(5) cm^-1 for a three-layer hBN, in good agreement with the linear-chain model. This makes Raman spectroscopy a relevant tool to quantitatively determine in a non destructive way the number of layers in ultra thin hBN sheets, below 8 L, prior to their integration in van der Waals heterostructures.