  We report an investigation of DyScO3 and GdScO3 single crystals by Raman
scattering in various scattering configurations and at various wavelengths. The
Raman spectra are well-defined and the reported spectral signature together
with the mode assignment sets the basis for the use of Raman scattering for the
investigation of RE-scandates. The observed positions of Raman modes for DyScO3
are for most bands in reasonable agreement with recent theoretical ab initio
predictions of the vibrational spectrum for the same material. Further to the
phonon signature, a luminescence signal is observed for both scandates. While
the luminescence is weak for DyScO3, it is very intense for GdScO3 when using a
488 or 514 nm excitation line, which in turn inhibits full analysis of the
phonon spectrum. We show that a meaningful phonon Raman analysis of GdScO3
samples can be done by using a 633 nm excitation.
