High-temperature ultrafast polariton parametric amplification in semiconductor microcavities

M. Saba (), C. Ciuti, J. Bloch, V. Thierry-Mieg, R. André, Le Si Dang, S. Kundermann, A. Mura, G. Bongiovanni, J. L. Staehli and B. Deveaud
Additional contact information
M. Saba: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, PH-Ecublens
C. Ciuti: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, PH-Ecublens
J. Bloch: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
V. Thierry-Mieg: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
R. André: Laboratoire de Spectrometrie Physique, Université J. Fourier-Grenoble
Le Si Dang: Laboratoire de Spectrometrie Physique, Université J. Fourier-Grenoble
S. Kundermann: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, PH-Ecublens
A. Mura: Università degli Studi di Cagliari
G. Bongiovanni: Università degli Studi di Cagliari
J. L. Staehli: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, PH-Ecublens
B. Deveaud: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, PH-Ecublens

Nature, 2001, vol. 414, issue 6865, 731-735

Abstract: Abstract Cavity polaritons, the elementary optical excitations of semiconductor microcavities, may be understood as a superposition of excitons and cavity photons1. Owing to their composite nature, these bosonic particles have a distinct optical response, at the same time very fast and highly nonlinear. Very efficient light amplification due to polariton–polariton parametric scattering has recently been reported in semiconductor microcavities at liquid-helium temperatures2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. Here we demonstrate polariton parametric amplification up to 120 K in GaAlAs-based microcavities and up to 220 K in CdTe-based microcavities. We show that the cut-off temperature for the amplification is ultimately determined by the binding energy of the exciton. A 5-µm-thick planar microcavity can amplify a weak light pulse more than 5,000 times. The effective gain coefficient of an equivalent homogeneous medium would be 107 cm-1. The subpicosecond duration and high efficiency of the amplification could be exploited for high-repetition all-optical microscopic switches and amplifiers. 105 polaritons occupy the same quantum state during the amplification, realizing a dynamical condensate of strongly interacting bosons which can be studied at high temperature.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/414731a

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