  We have investigated ten standard single crystal substrates of complex oxides
on the account of their applicability in the Raman spectroscopy based thin film
research. In this study we suggest a spectra normalization procedure that
utilizes a comparison of the substrate Raman spectra to those of
well-established Raman reference materials. We demonstrate that MgO, LaGaO3,
(LaAlO3)_0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)_0.7 (LSAT), DyScO3, YAlO3, and LaAlO3 can be of
potential use for a Raman based thin film research. At the same time TiO2
(rutile), NdGaO3, SrLaAlO4, and SrTiO3 single crystals exhibit multiple phonon
modes accompanied by strong Raman background that substantially hinder the
Raman based thin film experiments.
