Edge states in polariton honeycomb lattices

Abstract

The experimental study of edge states in atomically thin layered materials remains a challenge due to the difficult control of the geometry of the sample terminations, the stability of dangling bonds, and the need to measure local properties. In the case of graphene, localized edge modes have been predicted in zigzag and bearded edges, characterized by flat dispersions connecting the Dirac points. Polaritons in semiconductor microcavities have recently emerged as an extraordinary photonic platform to emulate 1D and 2D Hamiltonians, allowing the direct visualization of the wavefunctions in both real- and momentum-space as well as of the energy dispersion of eigenstates via photoluminescence experiments. Here we report on the observation of edge states in a honeycomb lattice of coupled micropillars. The lowest two bands of this structure arise from the coupling of the lowest energy modes of the micropillars, and emulate the π and π* bands of graphene. We show the momentum-space dispersion of the edge states associated with the zigzag and bearded edges, holding unidimensional quasi-flat bands. Additionally, we evaluate polarization effects characteristic of polaritons on the properties of these states.