Research Highlights
Optically defined cavities in driven-dissipative photonic lattices
The engineering of localised modes in photonic structures is one of the main targets of modern photonics. An efficient strategy to design these modes is to use the interplay of constructive and destructive interference in periodic photonic lattices. This mechanism is at the origin of defect modes in photonic bandgaps, bound states in the continuum and compact localised states in flat bands. Here we show that in lattices of lossy resonators, the addition of external optical drives with controlled phase enlarges the possibilities of manipulating interference effects and allows designing novel types of localised modes. Using a honeycomb lattice of coupled micropillars resonantly driven with several laser spots at energies within its photonic bands we demonstrate the localisation of light in at-will geometries down to a single site. These localised modes can be seen as fully reconfigurable optical cavities with the potentiality of enhancing nonlinear effects and of controlling light-matter interactions with single site resolution.
O. Jamadi, B. Real, K. Sawicki, C. Hainaut, A. González-Tudela, N. Pernet, I. Sagnes, M. Morassi, A. Lemaître, L. Le Gratiet, A. Harouri, S. Ravets, J. Bloch, A. Amo
arXiv:2112.07753
Multi-level exciton-polariton systems offer an attractive platform for studies of non-linear optical phenomena. However, studies of such consequential non-linear phenomena as polariton condensation and lasing in planar microcavities have so far been limited to two-level systems, where the condensation takes place in the lowest attainable state. Here, we report non-equilibrium Bose–Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons and low threshold, dual-wavelength polariton lasing in vertically coupled, double planar microcavities. Moreover, we find that the presence of the non-resonantly driven condensate triggers interbranch exciton-polariton transfer in the form of energy-degenerate parametric scattering. Such an effect has so far been observed only under excitation that is strictly resonant in terms of the energy and incidence angle. We describe theoretically our time-integrated and time-resolved photoluminescence investigations by an open-dissipative Gross–Pitaevskii equation-based model. Our platform’s inherent tunability is promising for construction of planar lattices, enabling three-dimensional polariton hopping and realization of photonic devices, such as all-optical polariton-based logic gates.
K. Sawicki, T. J. Sturges, M. Ściesiek, T. Kazimierczuk, K. Sobczak, A. Golnik, W. Pacuski, J. Suffczyński
et al. Nanophotonics 10(9), 2421-2429 (2021).
