Microfluidic-Assisted Growth of Perovskite Microwires for Room-Temperature All-Optical Switching Based on Total Internal Reflection

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel all-optical switch utilizing propagating polaritons confined by total internal reflection in perovskite microwires, enabling efficient in-plane propagation and potential for integrated photonic circuits at room temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a new fabrication approach for perovskite-based devices using microfluidic-assisted growth and TIR confinement for optical switching.

Findings

Achieved long in-plane propagation of polaritons in perovskite microwires.

Demonstrated efficient injection and extraction of polariton modes with gold grating couplers.

Realized a proof-of-concept all-optical switch operating at room temperature.

Abstract

The development of efficient integrated photonic circuits is fundamental for ongoing research in information processing and computer science. The greatest challenge in strong light-matter regime facing photonic systems is achieving strong nonlinearities, which are exploitable in strongly coupled systems, leading to the formation of exciton-polaritons. In this context, the use of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites offers a promising alternative, exhibiting robust interactions at Room Temperature (RT). However, the development of perovskite-based integrated devices requires both the ability to achieve long in-plane propagation, and the development of alternative fabrication approaches tailored to perovskite materials, designed to preserve their optical properties and prevent degradation. Herein, we present the realization of a proof-of-concept all-optical switch using propagating polaritons confined in Total Internal Reflection (TIR), which ensures long in-plane propagation and limited optical losses. We realized an efficient injection/extraction of the TIR-confined waveguide polariton modes by employing gold grating couplers prepatterned on the substrate.