Exciton-Photonics: From Fundamental Science to Applications

TL;DR

This review discusses the recent progress in exciton-photon coupling in low-dimensional semiconductors, emphasizing hybrid exciton-polaritons, their unique properties, and potential applications in quantum optics and optoelectronics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of exciton-photon interactions, recent advances, and critical evaluation of material challenges for practical device applications.

Findings

Advances in imaging and spectroscopy reveal exciton-polariton properties.

Material bottlenecks hinder practical device development.

Excitonic materials are crucial for future quantum and classical optoelectronics.

Abstract

Semiconductors in all dimensionalities ranging from 0D quantum dots and molecules to 3D bulk crystals support bound electron-hole pair quasiparticles termed as excitons. Over the past two decades, the emergence of a variety of low-dimensional semiconductors that support excitons combined with advances in nano-optics and photonics has burgeoned a new area of research that focuses on engineering, imaging, and modulating coupling between excitons and photons, resulting in the formation of hybrid-quasiparticles termed exciton-polaritons. This new area has the potential to bring about a paradigm shift in quantum optics, as well as classical optoelectronic devices. Here, we present a review on the coupling of light in excitonic semiconductors and investigation of the unique properties of these hybrid quasiparticles via both far-field and near-field imaging and spectroscopy techniques. Special emphasis is laid on recent advances with critical evaluation of the bottlenecks that plague various materials towards practical device implementations including quantum light sources. Our review highlights a growing need for excitonic materials development together with optical engineering and imaging techniques to harness the utility of excitons and their host materials for a variety of applications.