Nonlinear Polariton Fluids in a Flatband Reveal Discrete Gap Solitons.

Phase frustration in periodic lattices is responsible for the formation of dispersionless flatbands. The absence of any kinetic energy scale makes flatband physics critically sensitive to perturbations and interactions. We report on the experimental investigation of the nonlinear response of cavity polaritons in the gapped flatband of a one-dimensional Lieb lattice.

Correction: Transport mechanisms in a puckered graphene-on-lattice.

Correction for 'Transport mechanisms in a puckered graphene-on-lattice' by T. Xu et al., Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 7519-7525.

Transport mechanisms in a puckered graphene-on-lattice.

Understanding the fundamental properties of graphene when its topography is patterned by the use of a compliant substrate is essential to improve the performances of graphene sensors. Here we suspend a graphene monolayer on SiO2 nanopillar arrays to form a puckered graphene-on-lattice and investigate the strain and electrical transport at the nanoscale. Despite a nonuniform strain in the graphene-on-lattice, the resistivity is governed by thermally activated transport and not the strain.

Probing a Dissipative Phase Transition via Dynamical Optical Hysteresis.

We experimentally explore the dynamical optical hysteresis of a semiconductor microcavity as a function of the sweep time. The hysteresis area exhibits a double power law decay due to the influence of fluctuations, which trigger switching between metastable states. Upon increasing the average photon number and approaching the thermodynamic limit, the double power law evolves into a single power law.

Orbital Edge States in a Photonic Honeycomb Lattice.

We experimentally reveal the emergence of edge states in a photonic lattice with orbital bands. We use a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of coupled micropillars whose bulk spectrum shows four gapless bands arising from the coupling of p-like photonic orbitals. We observe zero-energy edge states whose topological origin is similar to that of conventional edge states in graphene.

Energy harvesting efficiency in GaN nanowire-based nanogenerators: the critical influence of the Schottky nanocontact.

The performances of 1D-nanostructure based nanogenerators are governed by the ability of nanostructures to efficiently convert mechanical deformation into electrical energy, and by the efficiency with which this piezo-generated energy is harvested. In this paper, we highlight the crucial influence of the GaN nanowire-metal Schottky nanocontact on the energy harvesting efficiency. Three different metals, p-type doped diamond, PtSi and Pt/Ir, have been investigated.

Phase-Controlled Bistability of a Dark Soliton Train in a Polariton Fluid.

We use a one-dimensional polariton fluid in a semiconductor microcavity to explore the nonlinear dynamics of counterpropagating interacting Bose fluids. The intrinsically driven-dissipative nature of the polariton fluid allows us to use resonant pumping to impose a phase twist across the fluid. When the polariton-polariton interaction energy becomes comparable to the kinetic energy, linear interference fringes transform into a train of solitons.

Interaction-induced hopping phase in driven-dissipative coupled photonic microcavities.

The Bose-Hubbard model (BHM) describes bosons hopping across sites and interacting on-site. Inspired by the success of BHM simulators with atoms in optical lattices, proposals for implementing the BHM with photons in coupled nonlinear cavities have recently emerged. Two coupled semiconductor microcavities constitute a model system where the hopping, interaction and decay of exciton polaritons-mixed light-matter quasiparticles-can be engineered in combination with site-selective coherent driving to implement the driven-dissipative two-site optical BHM.

Bosonic Condensation and Disorder-Induced Localization in a Flat Band.

We report on the engineering of a nondispersive (flat) energy band in a geometrically frustrated lattice of micropillar optical cavities. By taking advantage of the non-Hermitian nature of our system, we achieve bosonic condensation of exciton polaritons into the flat band. Because of the infinite effective mass in such a band, the condensate is highly sensitive to disorder and fragments into localized modes reflecting the elementary eigenstates produced by geometric frustration.

Acoustic black hole in a stationary hydrodynamic flow of microcavity polaritons.

We report an experimental study of superfluid hydrodynamic effects in a one-dimensional polariton fluid flowing along a laterally patterned semiconductor microcavity and hitting a micron-sized engineered defect. At high excitation power, superfluid propagation effects are observed in the polariton dynamics; in particular, a sharp acoustic horizon is formed at the defect position, separating regions of sub- and supersonic flow. Our experimental findings are quantitatively reproduced by theoretical calculations based on a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

Revealing the dark side of a bright exciton-polariton condensate.

Condensation of bosons causes spectacular phenomena such as superfluidity or superconductivity. Understanding the nature of the condensed particles is crucial for active control of such quantum phases. Fascinating possibilities emerge from condensates of light-matter-coupled excitations, such as exciton-polaritons, photons hybridized with hydrogen-like bound electron-hole pairs.

Electrically injected photon-pair source at room temperature.

One of the main challenges for future quantum information technologies is the miniaturization and integration of high performance components in a single chip. In this context, electrically driven sources of nonclassical states of light have a clear advantage over optically driven ones. Here we demonstrate the first electrically driven semiconductor source of photon pairs working at room temperature and telecom wavelengths.

Fractal energy spectrum of a polariton gas in a Fibonacci quasiperiodic potential.

We report on the study of a polariton gas confined in a quasiperiodic one-dimensional cavity, described by a Fibonacci sequence. Imaging the polariton modes both in real and reciprocal space, we observe features characteristic of their fractal energy spectrum such as the opening of minigaps obeying the gap labeling theorem and log-periodic oscillations of the integrated density of states. These observations are accurately reproduced solving an effective 1D Schrödinger equation, illustrating the potential of cavity polaritons as a quantum simulator in complex topological geometries.

Direct observation of Dirac cones and a flatband in a honeycomb lattice for polaritons.

Two-dimensional lattices of coupled micropillars etched in a planar semiconductor microcavity offer a workbench to engineer the band structure of polaritons. We report experimental studies of honeycomb lattices where the polariton low-energy dispersion is analogous to that of electrons in graphene. Using energy-resolved photoluminescence, we directly observe Dirac cones, around which the dynamics of polaritons is described by the Dirac equation for massless particles.

Two-photon injection of polaritons in semiconductor microstructures.

We experimentally demonstrate that two-photon pumping of "dark" excitons in quantum wells embedded in semiconductor microcavities can result in exciton-polariton injection and photon lasing. In the case of a semiconductor micropillar pumped at half of the exciton frequency, we observe a clear threshold behavior, characteristic of the vertical cavity surface emitting laser transition. These results are interpreted in terms of stimulated emission of terahertz photons, which allows for conversion of "dark" excitons into exciton-polaritons.

Polariton-generated intensity squeezing in semiconductor micropillars.

The generation of squeezed and entangled light fields is a crucial ingredient for the implementation of quantum information protocols. In this context, semiconductor materials offer a strong potential for the implementation of on-chip devices operating at the quantum level. Here we demonstrate a novel source of continuous variable squeezed light in pillar-shaped semiconductor microcavities in the strong coupling regime.

All-optical phase modulation in a cavity-polariton Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

Quantum fluids based on light is a highly developing research field, since they provide a nonlinear platform for developing optical functionalities and quantum simulators. An important issue in this context is the ability to coherently control the properties of the fluid. Here we propose an all-optical approach for controlling the phase of a flow of cavity-polaritons, making use of their strong interactions with localized excitons.

Formation and control of Turing patterns in a coherent quantum fluid.

Nonequilibrium patterns in open systems are ubiquitous in nature, with examples as diverse as desert sand dunes, animal coat patterns such as zebra stripes, or geographic patterns in parasitic insect populations. A theoretical foundation that explains the basic features of a large class of patterns was given by Turing in the context of chemical reactions and the biological process of morphogenesis. Analogs of Turing patterns have also been studied in optical systems where diffusion of matter is replaced by diffraction of light.

Realization of a double-barrier resonant tunneling diode for cavity polaritons.

We report on the realization of a double-barrier resonant tunneling diode for cavity polaritons, by lateral patterning of a one-dimensional cavity. Sharp transmission resonances are demonstrated when sending a polariton flow onto the device. We show that a nonresonant beam can be used as an optical gate and can control the device transmission.

Polariton condensation in solitonic gap states in a one-dimensional periodic potential.

Manipulation of nonlinear waves in artificial periodic structures leads to spectacular spatial features, such as generation of gap solitons or onset of the Mott insulator phase transition. Cavity exciton-polaritons are strongly interacting quasiparticles offering large possibilities for potential optical technologies. Here we report their condensation in a one-dimensional microcavity with a periodic modulation.

Optically programmable excitonic traps.

With atomic systems, optically programmed trapping potentials have led to remarkable progress in quantum optics and quantum information science. Programmable trapping potentials could have a similar impact on studies of semiconductor quasi-particles, particularly excitons. However, engineering such potentials inside a semiconductor heterostructure remains an outstanding challenge and optical techniques have not yet achieved a high degree of control.

Bright solid-state sources of indistinguishable single photons.

Bright sources of indistinguishable single photons are strongly needed for the scalability of quantum information processing. Semiconductor quantum dots are promising systems to build such sources. Several works demonstrated emission of indistinguishable photons while others proposed various approaches to efficiently collect them.

Polariton condensation in photonic molecules.

We report on polariton condensation in photonic molecules formed by two coupled micropillars. We show that the condensation process is strongly affected by the interaction with the cloud of uncondensed excitons and thus strongly depends on the exact localization of these excitons within the molecule. Under symmetric excitation conditions, condensation is triggered on both binding and antibinding polariton states of the molecule.

Subpicosecond pulse generation from a 1.56 μm mode-locked VECSEL.

Near-transform-limited subpicosecond pulses at 1.56 μm were generated from an optically pumped InP-based vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) passively mode-locked at 2 GHz repetition rate with a fast InGaAsNSb/GaAs semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM). The SESAM microcavity resonance was adjusted via a selective etching of phase layers specifically designed to control the magnitude of both the modulation depth and the intracavity group delay dispersion of the SESAM.