Raman spectra of single‐crystal CoSb3and RhSb3and of polycrystalline IrSb3have been studied. We have also studied four different polycrystalline‐filled skutterudite samples, Ir4LaGe3Sb9, Ir4NdGe3Sb9, Ir4SmGe3Sb9, and Fe4CeSb12, where rare‐earth ions occupy the voids in the skutterudite structure. These void‐filling ions interact with some of the lattice vibrations in this structure and produce a shift and broadening of the observed lines. The most prominent lines in all of the samples are the Sb4ring‐breathing modes. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.