Abstract
We demonstrate strong light-matter interaction at ambient conditions between a ladder-type conjugated polymer and the individual modes of a vertical microcavity with tunable resonance frequencies. Zero-dimensional wavelength-scale confinement for the polaritons is achieved through a sub-micron sized Gaussian defect, resulting in a vacuum Rabi splitting of the polariton branches of 2g = 166 meV. By placing a second Gaussian defect nearby, we create a polaritonic molecule with tunnel coupling strength of up to 2J ~ 50 meV. This platform enables the creation of tailor-made potential landscapes with wavelength-scale dimensions and tunable coupling strengths beyond the thermal energy, opening a route towards room-temperature polariton-based quantum simulators.
Highlights
We demonstrate strong light-matter interaction at ambient conditions between a ladder-type conjugated polymer and the individual modes of a vertical microcavity with tunable resonance frequencies
Non-equilibrium BoseEinstein condensation (BEC) of polaritons has been realized in many different quantum well structures,4 and most recently with conjugated polymers5,6 at room temperature
A spin-coated thin polymer film of methylsubstituted ladder-type poly(p-phenylene) (MeLPPP) acts as active medium on a sputtered distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) for the bottom half of the cavity and a DBR deposited on a Gaussian defect fabricated by means of focused ion beam milling,17 for the top half
Summary
We demonstrate strong light-matter interaction at ambient conditions between a ladder-type conjugated polymer and the individual modes of a vertical microcavity with tunable resonance frequencies. Tunable microcavities in which the distance between the cavity mirrors can be changed in the experiment with nanometer precision and stability are an attractive way to maneuver around this roadblock In this configuration, transversal confinement can be achieved through hemispherical defects, which has been recently exploited to create tunable cavities with semiconductor quantum wells and transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers in the strong light-matter coupling regime at cryogenic temperatures. In order to reach tightest confinement on the wavelength scale, which is important for strong polariton interaction and strongly coupled cavity arrays, nanoscale Gaussian-shaped defects supporting high cavity quality factors Q > 105 could be used.16 These structures allow precise spatial control of the cavity resonance frequency, enabling the creation of arbitrary potential landscapes and controlled disorder. By creating structures with two overlapping Gaussian defects we create photonic molecules which give rise to effective double well potentials for the polaritons where the tunneling rate, i.e. the coupling strength, is set by the distance between the defects
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