Abstract
The frequency dependence of the cross section for second-order Raman scattering in an insulator is evaluated for incident frequencies below and above the gap. We consider both a deformation potential and the Fröhlich interaction for the electron-one-phonon coupling and take the uncorrelated electron-hole continuum as intermediate states. The following results compare well with recent experiments in GaP: (a) the frequency dependence of the scattering intensity with TO(Γ)+LO(Γ) and 2LO(Γ) phonons around the gap; (b) the corresponding selection rules; (c) absolute numbers for the deformation potential and the prefactor of the Fröhlich interaction using measured intensity ratios with TO(Γ) first-order scattering and a pseudopotential calculation. Calculated line shifts and widths due to phonon dispersion show a strong dependence on the incident frequency around the gap.