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The use of high energy proton implantation is demonstrated to precisely and independently shift the energies of both exciton and photon components of GaAs microcavity exciton–polaritons. The technique applies post‐growth proton implantation and annealing steps in order to create a small local interdiffusion across either the quantum well–barrier material interfaces, or between the layers of the cavity distributed Bragg reflector mirrors to induce energy shifts to the exciton or photon components, respectively. The polariton mode is tunable by an energy exceeding 10 meV with a corresponding increase (decrease) in effective mass for photon (exciton) energy shifts, while maintaining narrow‐linewidth polariton photoemission and condensation for both photonic and excitonic polaritons. This technique uniquely enables new opportunities to explore coherent polariton matter with narrow‐linewidth and heavy masses in tight‐binding, non‐Hermitian, and topological landscapes with sub‐µm feature‐sizes, while also being a simple post‐growth process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering the properties of quantum materials via strong light-matter coupling is a compelling research direction with a multiplicity of modern applications. Those range from modifying charge transport in organic molecules, steering particle correlation and interactions, and even controlling chemical reactions. Here, we study the modification of the material properties via strong coupling and demonstrate an effective inversion of the excitonic band-ordering in a monolayer of WSe2 with spin-forbidden, optically dark ground state. In our experiments, we harness the strong light-matter coupling between cavity photon and the high energy, spin-allowed bright exciton, and thus creating two bright polaritonic modes in the optical bandgap with the lower polariton mode pushed below the WSe2 dark state. We demonstrate that in this regime the commonly observed luminescence quenching stemming from the fast relaxation to the dark ground state is prevented, which results in the brightening of this intrinsically dark material. We probe this effective brightening by temperature-dependent photoluminescence, and we find an excellent agreement with a theoretical model accounting for the inversion of the band ordering and phonon-assisted polariton relaxation. Here, the authors show brightening of dark excitons by strong coupling between cavity photons and high energy, spin-allowed, bright excitons in monolayer WSe2. In this regime, the commonly observed photoluminescence quenching stemming from the fast relaxation to the dark ground state is prevented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of spatial and temporal coherence of light emitted from solid-state systems is a fundamental phenomenon intrinsically aligned with the control of light-matter coupling. It is canonical for laser oscillation, emerges in the superradiance of collective emitters, and has been investigated in bosonic condensates of thermalized light, as well as exciton-polaritons. Our room temperature experiments show the strong light-matter coupling between microcavity photons and excitons in atomically thin WSe2. We evidence the density-dependent expansion of spatial and temporal coherence of the emitted light from the spatially confined system ground-state, which is accompanied by a threshold-like response of the emitted light intensity. Additionally, valley-physics is manifested in the presence of an external magnetic field, which allows us to manipulate K and K' polaritons via the valley-Zeeman-effect. Our findings validate the potential of atomically thin crystals as versatile components of coherent light-sources, and in valleytronic applications at room temperature. Here, the authors show that the interaction between microcavity photons and excitons in an atomically thin WSe2 results in a hybridized regime of strong light-matter coupling. Coherence build-up is accompanied by a threshold-like behaviour of the emitted light intensity, which is a fingerprint of a polariton laser effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polariton condensates' propagation is strongly dependent on the particular energy landscape the particles are moving upon, in which the geometry of the pathway laid for their movement plays a crucial role. Bends in the circuit's trajectories affect the condensates' speed and oblique geometries introduce an additional discretization of the polaritons' momenta due to the mixing of short and long axis wavevectors on the propagating eigenvalues. In this work, the nature of the propagation of condensates along the arms of a polariton coupler is studied by a combination of time‐resolved micro‐tomography measurements and a theoretical model based on a mean field approximation where condensed polaritons are described by an equation for the slow varying amplitude of the polariton field coupled to an equation for the density of incoherent excitons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vortices are topological objects representing the circular motion of a fluid. With their additional degree of freedom, the vorticity, they have been widely investigated in many physical systems and different materials for fundamental interest and for applications in data storage and information processing. Vortices have also been observed in non-equilibrium exciton-polariton condensates in planar semiconductor microcavities. There they appear spontaneously or can be created and pinned in space using ring-shaped optical excitation profiles. However, using the vortex state for information processing not only requires creation of a vortex but also efficient control over the vortex after its creation. Here we demonstrate a simple approach to control and switch a localized polariton vortex between opposite states. In our scheme, both the optical control of vorticity and its detection through the orbital angular momentum of the emitted light are implemented in a robust and practical manner. Vortices can be generated in many platforms and are useful due to manipulation of their vorticity. Here the authors show generation and optical switching of a vortex in exciton-polariton condensates using GaAs microcavities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-resolved imaging of the propagation and interference of isolated ultrashort surface plasmon polariton wave packets is demonstrated using two photon photoemission microscopy. The group- and phase velocity of individual wave packets are determined experimentally. Using two counter-propagating surface plasmon polariton pulses, the transient formation of a standing surface plasmon polariton wave is imaged in time and space. We demonstrate that using a normal incidence geometry in time-resolved photoemission microscopy provides great advantages for in-situ imaging of surface plasmon polaritons in arbitrary plasmonic structures. A simple 1D wave-simulation is used to confirm the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the construction of decoupled, coupled, and quasi-one dimensional polariton systems from zero dimensional polariton quantum boxes using microcavities with sub-wavelength gratings as the top mirror. By designing the tethering patterns around the suspended sub-wavelength gratings, we control the coupling between individual quantum boxes through different optical potentials. Energy levels and real-space or momentum space distributions of the confined modes were measured, which agreed well with simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a novel time-resolved photoemission-based near-field illumination method, referred to as femtosecond normal-incidence photoemission microscopy (NI-PEEM). The change from the commonly used grazing-incidence to normal-incidence illumination geometry has a major impact on the achievable contrast and, hence, on the imaging potential of transient local near fields. By imaging surface plasmon polaritons in normal light incidence geometry, the observed fringe spacing directly resembles the wavelength of the plasmon wave. Our novel approach provides a direct descriptive visualization of SPP wave packets propagating across a metal surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional semiconductor laser emission relies on stimulated emission of photons, which sets stringent requirements on the minimum amount of energy necessary for its operation. In comparison, exciton-polaritons in strongly coupled quantum well microcavities can undergo stimulated scattering that promises more energy-efficient generation of coherent light by 'polariton lasers'. Polariton laser operation has been demonstrated in optically pumped semiconductor microcavities at temperatures up to room temperature, and such lasers can outperform their weak-coupling counterparts in that they have a lower threshold density. Even though polariton diodes have been realized, electrically pumped polariton laser operation, which is essential for practical applications, has not been achieved until now. Here we present an electrically pumped polariton laser based on a microcavity containing multiple quantum wells. To prove polariton laser emission unambiguously, we apply a magnetic field and probe the hybrid light-matter nature of the polaritons. Our results represent an important step towards the practical implementation of polaritonic light sources and electrically injected condensates, and can be extended to room-temperature operation using wide-bandgap materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An expanding polariton condensate is investigated under pulsed nonresonant excitation with a small laser pump spot. Far above the condensation threshold we observe a pronounced increase in the dispersion curvature, with a subsequent linearization of the spectrum and strong luminescence from a ghost branch orthogonally polarized with respect to the linearly polarized condensate emission. Polarization of both branches is understood in terms of spin-dependent polariton-polariton scattering. The presence of the ghost branch has been confirmed in time-resolved measurements. The effects of disorder and dissipation in the photoluminescence of polariton condensates and their excitations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise adjustment of the polariton condensate flow under incoherent excitation conditions is an indispensable prerequisite for polariton-based logic gate operations. In this report, an all-optical approach for steering the motion of a polariton condensate using only nonresonant excitation is demonstrated. We create arbitrarily shaped functional potentials by means of a spatial light modulator, which allow for tailoring the condensate state and guiding a propagating condensate along reconfigurable pathways. Additional numerical simulations confirm the experimental observations and elucidate the interaction effects between background carriers and polariton condensates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We observe quasi-long-range coherence in a two-dimensional condensate of exciton-polaritons. Our measurements confirm that the spatial correlation algebraically decays with a slow power law, whose exponent quantitatively behaves as predicted by the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless theory. The exciton-polaritons are created by nonresonant optical pumping of a microcavity sample with embedded GaAs quantum wells at liquid helium temperature. Michelson interference is used to measure the coherence of the photons emitted by decaying exciton-polaritons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlled transfer of orbital angular momentum to an exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensate spontaneously created under incoherent, off resonant excitation conditions is a long-standing challenge in the field of microcavity polaritonics. We demonstrate, experimentally and theoretically, a simple and efficient approach to the generation of nontrivial orbital angular momentum states by using optically induced potentials-chiral polaritonic lenses. These lenses are produced by a structured optical pump with a spatial distribution of intensity that breaks the chiral symmetry of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a systematic investigation of two-photon excitation processes in a GaAs-based microcavity in the strong-coupling regime. We observe second harmonic generation resonant to the upper and lower polariton level, which exhibits a strong dependence on the photonic fraction of the corresponding polariton. In addition, we have performed two-photon excitation spectroscopy to identify 2p exciton states which are crucial for the operation as a terahertz lasing device, which was suggested recently [A. V. Kavokin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 197401 (2012)]. However, no distinct signatures of a 2p exciton state could be identified, which indicates a low two-photon pumping efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional polariton condensates (PoCos) in a photonic wire are generated through nonresonant laser excitation, by which also a reservoir of background carriers is created. Interaction with this reservoir may affect the coherence of the PoCo, which is studied here by injecting a condensate locally and monitoring the coherence along the wire. While the incoherent reservoir is mostly present within the excitation laser spot, the condensate can propagate ballistically through the wire. Photon correlation measurements show that far from the laser spot the second-order correlation function approaches unity value, as expected for the coherent condensed state. When approaching the spot, however, the correlation function increases up to values of 1.2 showing the addition of noise to the emission due to interaction with the reservoir. This finding is substantiated by measuring the first-order coherence by a double-slit experiment, which shows a reduced visibility of interference at the excitation laser spot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional electronic materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalgenides feature unique electrical and optical properties due to the conspirative effect of band structure, orbital coupling, and crystal symmetry. Synthetic matter, as accomplished by artificial lattice arrangements of cold atoms, molecules, electron patterning, and optical cavities, has emerged to provide manifold intriguing frameworks to likewise realize such scenarios. Exciton polaritons have recently been added to the list of promising candidates for the emulation of system Hamiltonians on a semiconductor platform, offering versatile tools to engineer the potential landscape and to access the nonlinear electro-optical regime. In this work, we introduce an electronically driven square and honeycomb lattice of exciton polaritons, paving the way towards real world devices based on polariton lattices for on-chip applications. Our platform exhibits laserlike emission from high-symmetry points under direct current injection, hinting at the prospect of electrically driven polariton lasers with possibly topologically nontrivial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study experimentally and theoretically a coherently driven strongly coupled quantum dot-microcavity system. Our focus is on physics of the unexplored intermediate excitation regime where the resonant laser field dresses a strongly coupled single exciton-photon (polariton) system resulting in a ladder of laser-dressed Jaynes-Cummings states. In that case, both the coupling of the emitter to the confined light field of the microcavity and to the light field of the external laser are equally important, as proved by observation of injection pulling of the polariton branches by an external laser. This intermediate interaction regime is of particular interest since it connects the purely quantum mechanical Jaynes-Cummings ladder and the semiclassical Autler-Townes ladder. Exploring the driving strength dependence of the mutually coupled system we establish the maximum in the resonance fluorescence signal to be a robust fingerprint of the intermediate regime and observe signatures indicating the laser-dressed Jaynes-Cummings ladder. In order to address the underlying physics we excite the coupled system via the matter component of fermionic nature undergoing saturation--in contrast to commonly used cavity-mediated excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we demonstrate a versatile concept for a planar cavity polariton beam amplifier using nonresonant excitation. In contrast to resonant excitation schemes, background carriers are injected which form excitons, providing both gain and a repulsive potential for a polariton condensate. Using an attractive potential environment induced by a locally elongated cavity layer, the repulsive potential of the injected background carriers is compensated, and a significant amplification of polariton beams is achieved without beam distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]