Electrically tunable organic-inorganic hybrid polaritons with monolayer WS2

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an electrically tunable hybrid polariton device at room temperature, combining organic and inorganic excitons in a microcavity with a monolayer WS2, enabling control of nonlinear optical properties.

Contribution

It introduces a novel device that switches between Frenkel and Wannier-Mott excitons electrically within a microcavity at ambient conditions.

Findings

Hybrid polaritons are observed at room temperature.

Electrical voltage can switch the dominant exciton type.

Potential for electrically controlled nonlinear optical devices.

Abstract

Exciton-polaritons are quasiparticles consisting of a linear superposition of photonic and excitonic states, offering potential for nonlinear optical devices. The excitonic component of the polariton provides a finite Coulomb scattering cross section, such that the different types of exciton found in organic materials (Frenkel) and inorganic materials (Wannier-Mott) produce polaritons with different interparticle interaction strength. A hybrid polariton state with distinct excitons provides a potential technological route towards in-situ control of nonlinear behaviour. Here we demonstrate a device in which hybrid polaritons are displayed at ambient temperatures, the excitonic component of which is part Frenkel and part Wannier-Mott, and in which the dominant exciton type can be switched with an applied voltage. The device consists of an open microcavity containing both organic dye and a monolayer of the transition metal dichalcogenide WS$_2$. Our findings offer a perspective for electrically controlled nonlinear polariton devices at room temperature.