Nonlinear dynamics of polariton scattering in semiconductor microcavity: bistability vs stimulated scattering

TL;DR

This paper investigates the unique behavior of polariton scattering in semiconductor microcavities under strong continuous-wave excitation, revealing a stable scattering peak unaffected by pump detuning, explained through nonlinear dynamics and bistability.

Contribution

The study combines experimental observations with theoretical modeling to explain the persistent scattering behavior via competition between bistability and parametric instabilities.

Findings

Scattering peak remains fixed near the normal direction despite pump detuning.

Theoretical model reproduces the experimental behavior using Maxwell and nonlinear Schrödinger equations.

Identifies the role of bistability and scattering instabilities in polariton dynamics.

Abstract

We demonstrate experimentally an unusual behavior of the parametric polariton scattering in semiconductor microcavity under a strong cw resonant excitation. The maximum of the scattered signal above the threshold of stimulated parametric scattering does not shift along the microcavity lower polariton branch with the change of pump detuning or angle of incidence but is stuck around the normal direction. We show theoretically that such a behavior can be modelled numerically by a system of Maxwell and nonlinear Schroedinger equations for cavity polaritons and explained via the competition between the bistability of a driven nonlinear MC polariton and the instabilities of parametric polariton-polariton scattering.