arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Guillaume Malpuech.
We study theoretically the Bose-Einstein condensation in periodic polariton lattices in presence of a localized reservoir. Using the Schrödinger and Boltzmann equations, we find analytically the parameters determining the choice of the bandgap for condensation on the defect states.
We study Klein tunneling in polariton graphene. We show that the photonic spin-orbit coupling associated with the energy splitting between TE and TM photonic modes can be described as an emergent gauge field. It suppresses the Klein tunnelling in small energy range close to the Dirac points. Thanks to polariton spin-anisotropic interactions, polarized optical pumping allows to create potential barriers acting on a single polariton spin. We show that the resulting spin-dependent Klein tunneling can be used to create a perfectly transmitting polarization rotator operating at microscopic scale.
Two-dimensional lattices of coupled micropillars etched in a planar semiconductor microcavity offer a workbench to engineer the band structure of polaritons. We report experimental studies of honeycomb lattices where the polariton low-energy dispersion is analogous to that of electrons in graphene. Using energy-resolved photoluminescence we directly observe Dirac cones, around which the dynamics of polaritons is described by the Dirac equation for massless particles. At higher energies, we observe p orbital bands, one of them with the nondispersive character of a flatband. The realization of this structure which holds massless, massive and infinitely massive particles opens the route towards studies of the interplay of dispersion, interactions, and frustration in a novel and controlled environment.
We report on the realization of a double barrier resonant tunneling diode for cavity polaritons, by lateral patterning of a one-dimensional cavity. Sharp transmission resonances are demonstrated when sending a polariton flow onto the device. We use a non-resonant beam can be used as an optical gate and control the device transmission. Finally we evidence distortion of the transmission profile when going to the high density regime, signature of polariton-polariton interactions.
A laser threshold is determined by the gain condition, which has been progressively reduced by the use of heterostructures and of quantum confinement. The polariton laser is the ultimate step of this evolution: coherent emission is obtained from the spontaneous decay of an exciton-polariton condensate, without the achievement of any gain condition. ZnO, with its unique excitonic properties, is the best choice for a blue/UV-emitting polariton laser device. We report on the fabrication of a new family of fully hybrid microcavities that combine the best-quality ZnO material available (bulk substrate) and two dielectric distributed Bragg reflectors, demonstrating large quality factors (>2500) and Rabi splittings (~200 meV). Low threshold polariton lasing is achieved between 4 and 300 K and for excitonic fractions ranging between 12% and 96 %. A phase diagram highlighting the role of LO phonon-assisted relaxation in this polar semiconductor is established, and a remarkable switching between polariton modes is demonstrated.
We report on polariton condensation in photonic molecules formed by two coupled micropillars. We show that the condensation process is strongly affected by the interaction with the cloud of uncondensed excitons. Depending on the spatial position of these excitons within the molecule, condensation can be triggered on both binding and anti-binding polariton states of the molecule, on a metastable state or a total transfer of the condensate into one of the micropillars can be obtained. Our results highlight the crucial role played by relaxation kinetics in the condensation process.
We investigate the effects of disorder on the propagation of one-dimensional polariton condensates in semiconductor microcavities. We observe a strong suppression of the backscattering produced by the imperfections of the structure when increasing the condensate density. This suppression occurs in the supersonic regime and is simultaneous to the onset of parametric instabilities which enable the "hopping" of the condensate through the disorder. Our results evidence a new mechanism for the frictionless flow of polaritons at high speeds.
We analyze theoretically the spin dynamics of exciton-polaritons and photons during their Bloch oscillations in a one-dimensional microwire. The wire geometry induces an energy splitting between the longitudinal and transverse electric polarized eigenmodes. We show analytically that a synchronized regime between the Bloch oscillations in space and the precession of the pseudospin can be achieved. This synchronization results in the formation of a THz alternating spin current which can be extracted out of the confinement region by the Landau-Zener tunneling towards the second allowed miniband. Finally we show how the spin signal can be maintained despite of the lifetime of the particles for the case of exciton-polaritons both in a resonant and non resonant pumping schemes. The structure therefore acts as a Spin-optronic device able to convert the polarization and emit spin polarized pulses.
We describe oblique half-solitons, a new type of topological defects in a two dimensional spinor Bose Einstein condensate. A realistic protocol based on the optical spin Hall effect is proposed toward their generation within an exciton-polariton system.
We study theoretically Bloch oscillations of half-matter, half-light quasi-particles: exciton-polaritons. We propose an original structure for the observation of this phenomenon despite the constraints imposed by the relatively short lifetime of the particles and the limitations on the engineered periodic potential. First, we focus on the linear regime in a perfect lattice where regular oscillations are obtained. Second, we take into account a realistic structural disorder known to localize non-interacting particles, which is quite dramatic for propagation-related phenomena. In the non-linear condensed regime the renormalization of the energy provided by interactions between particles allows us to screen efficiently the disorder and to recover oscillations. This effect is useful only in a precise range of parameters outside of which the system becomes dynamically unstable. For a large chemical potential of the order of the potential's amplitude, a strong Landau-Zener tunneling tends to completely delocalize particles.
In a recent work [H. Flayac, I.A. Shelykh, D.D. Solnyshkov and G. Malpuech, Phys. Rev. B 81, 045318 (2010)], we have analyzed the effect of the TE-TM splitting on the stability of the exciton-polariton vortex states. We considered classical vortex solutions having cylindrical symmetry and we found that the so-called half-vortex states [Yu. G. Rubo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 106401 (2007)] are not solutions of the stationary Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In their Comment [M. Toledo Solano, Yu.G. Rubo, Phys. Rev. B 82, 127301 (2010)], M. Toledo Solano and Yuri G. Rubo claim that this conclusion is misleading and pretend to demonstrate the existence of static half-vortices in an exciton-polariton condensate in the presence of TE-TM splitting. In this reply we explain why this assertion is not demonstrated satisfactorily.
Phonon damping is the main source of pure dephasing in the solid state, limiting many fundamental quantum effects to low temperature observations. Here we show how excitons in semiconductors can be totally decoupled from the phonon bath, even at room temperature, thanks to their strong interaction with photons. To do so, we investigated ZnO microwires, a new semiconductor nanostructure made of large band-gap material where the light can be trapped and guided into whispering gallery modes. In this system, the very large coupling regime between exciton and photon results in unusual exciton-polariton of one-dimensional character and Rabi splitting as large as 300meV. We find that polariton modes of excitonic fraction up to 75% exhibit no thermal broadening up to room temperature. We show that this remarkable behavior is due to the very large Rabi splitting as compared to the LO phonon energy.
Cavity exciton-polaritons (polaritons) are bosonic quasi-particles offering a unique solid-state system to investigate interacting condensates. Up to now, disorder induced localization and short lifetimes have prevented the establishment of long range off diagonal order needed for any quantum manipulation of the condensate wavefunction. In this work, using a wire microcavity with polariton lifetimes ten times longer than in all previously existing samples, we show that polariton condensates can propagate over macroscopic distances outside the excitation area, while preserving their spontaneous spatial coherence. An extended condensate wave-function builds-up with a degree of spatial coherence larger than 50% over distances 50 times the polariton De Broglie wavelength. The expansion of the condensate is shown to be governed by the repulsive potential induced by photo-generated excitons within the excitation area. The control of this local potential offers a new and versatile method to manipulate extended polariton condensates. As an illustration, we demonstrate synchronization of extended condensates via controlled tunnel coupling and localization of condensates in a trap with optically controlled dimensions.
Half-vortices have been recently shown to be the elementary topological defects supported by a spinor cavity exciton-polaritons condensates with spin anisotropic interactions (Y. G. Rubo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 106401 (2007)). A half vortex is composed by an integer vortex for one circular component of the condensate, whereas the other component remain static. We analyze theoretically the effect of the splitting between TE and TM polarized eigen modes on the structure of the vortices in this system. For TE and TM modes, the polarization states depend on the direction of propagations of particles and imposes some well defined phase relation between the two circular component. As a result elementary topogical defects in this system are no more half vortices but integer vortices correspond to an integer vortex for both circular components of the condensate. The intrinsic life time of half vortices is given and the texture of a few vortex states is analyzed.
A quantum dot strongly coupled to a photonic crystal has been recently proposed as a source of entangled photon pairs [R. Johne et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 240404 (2008)]. The biexction decay via intermediate polariton states can be used to overcome the natural splitting between the exciton states coupled to the horizontally and vertically polarized light modes, so that high degrees of entanglement can be expected. We investigate theoretically the features of realistic dot-cavity systems, including the effect of the different oscillator strength of excitons resonances coupled to the different polarizations of light. We show that in this case, an independent adjustment of the cavity resonances is needed in order to keep a high entanglement degree. We also consider the case when the biexciton-exciton transition is also strongly coupled to a cavity mode. We show that a very fast emission rate can be achieved allowing the repetition rates in the THz range. Such fast emission should however be paid for by a very complex tuning of the many strongly coupled resonances involved and by a loss of quantum efficiency. Altogether a strongly coupled dot-cavity system seems to be very promising as a source of entangled photon pairs.
We show theoretically that the emission spectrum of a single large quantum dot strongly coupled to a single photon mode in a microcavity can be qualitatively different from the spectrum obtained with an atom in a cavity. Instead of the well-known Mollow triplet we predict appearance of multiplets with the number of peaks a function of the quantum dot size and pumping intensity. The mutiplets can appear if the quantum dot is larger than the exciton Bohr radius, so that excitons are confined as whole particles in the dot. In this case the Pauli principle is relaxed and one can accommodate more than one exciton (but still a finite number) in a given quantum state.