Multiple polariton modes originating from the coupling of quantum wells in planar microcavity

Abstract

We report on the observation of multiple polariton modes, originating from an electronic coupling between quantum wells inside a planar microcavity. A series of excitonic transitions are measured for a bare quantum well stack and are precisely identified to electron-hole transitions originating from the coupling of the wells. When the quantum well stacks are placed at the antinode of a high Q-factor microcavity, a series of anticrossings is observed, which is characteristic of a multiplicity of polariton modes. This behavior is simulated using a coupled oscillator model accounting for the cavity mode and all allowed excitonic transitions.

Polariton interactions in semiconductor microcavities

“…This comes with some difficulties such as the strain in the quantum wells, which may eventually be transferred into strain in the mirrors [37], but comes also with the great advantage that the experiments can be realized in transmission mode, which allows obtaining a much higher signal to noise ratio thanks to the suppression of the back-reflected light from the excitation laser. Let us note here that, in InGaAs-based cavities, spontaneous condensation is very difficult to observe also because of the coupling between the different quantum wells due to their very shallow depth [38]. Getting quantum wells with a larger indium content is therefore a necessity to obtain condensation [39], which comes at the expense of the quality of the quantum wells, and therefore of their linewidth.…”

Formation of Matter-Wave Polaritons in an Optical Lattice

“…Making the z-lattice state-dependent (instead of state-selective [19]) will allow us to create the equivalent of coupled-cavity arrays, and implement the analogue of photon blockade [33] for |b atoms, with the strongly interacting |r state playing the role of a nonlinearity. Introducing couplings between more than two excitonic or photonic bands should enable studies of analogues of multiexciton polaritons [34], multimode strong coupling [35], and spin-orbit coupling [36]. This may open up possibilities for studying topological polaritonic systems in higher dimensions [37].…”