Polariton lasing and energy-degenerate parametric scattering in non-resonantly driven coupled planar microcavities

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates non-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation and dual-wavelength lasing in coupled microcavities, revealing energy-degenerate parametric scattering triggered by non-resonant excitation, with potential for advanced photonic devices.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of polariton condensation and lasing in multi-level coupled microcavities, introducing a new platform for non-linear polariton phenomena and device applications.

Findings

Observation of Bose-Einstein condensation in coupled microcavities

Low-threshold dual-wavelength polariton lasing

Energy-degenerate parametric scattering triggered by non-resonant excitation

Abstract

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 a set of rate equations involving an open-dissipative Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Our platform's inherent tunability is promising for construction of planar lattices, enabling three-dimensional polariton hopping and realization of photonic devices, such as two-qubit polariton-based logic gates.