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arXiv · 2010.11117

Rydberg Excitons in Synthetic Cuprous Oxide (Cu$_2$O)

Stephen A. Lynch·Chris Hodges·Soumen Mandal·Wolfgang Langbein·Ravi P. Singh·Liam A. P. Gallagher·Jon. D. Pritchett·Danielle Pizzey·Joshua P. Rogers·Charles S. Adams·Matthew P. A. Jones
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Abstract

High-lying Rydberg states of Mott-Wannier excitons are receiving considerable interest due to the possibility of adding long-range interactions to the physics of exciton-polaritons. Here, we study Rydberg excitation in bulk synthetic cuprous oxide grown by the optical float zone technique and compare the result with natural samples. X-ray characterization confirms both materials are mostly single crystal, and mid-infrared transmission spectroscopy revealed little difference between synthetic and natural material. The synthetic samples show principal quantum numbers up to $n=10$, exhibit additional absorption lines, plus enhanced spatial broadening and spatial inhomogeneity. Room temperature and cryogenic photoluminescence measurements reveal a significant excess of copper vacancies in the synthetic material. These measurements provide a route towards achieving \mbox{high-$n$} excitons in synthetic crystals, opening a route to scalable quantum devices.

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Stephen A. Lynch, Chris Hodges, Soumen Mandal, Wolfgang Langbein, Ravi P. Singh, Liam A. P. Gallagher, Jon. D. Pritchett, Danielle Pizzey, Joshua P. Rogers, Charles S. Adams, Matthew P. A. Jones. 2020-10-21. Rydberg Excitons in Synthetic Cuprous Oxide (Cu$_2$O). https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.5.084602

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