Single-photon nonlinearity at room temperature
| Autor: | Rainer F. Mahrt, Anton Zasedatelev, Vladislav Yu. Shishkov, Pavlos G. Lagoudakis, Darius Urbonas, D. A. Sannikov, Anton V. Baranikov, Thilo Stöferle, Evgeny S. Andrianov, Ullrich Scherf, Fabio Scafirimuto, Yurii E. Lozovik |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Quantum fluid Condensed Matter::Quantum Gases Multidisciplinary Photon business.industry Condensed Matter::Other Exciton Quantum limit Physics::Optics 02 engineering and technology 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 01 natural sciences 7. Clean energy law.invention law 0103 physical sciences Optoelectronics 010306 general physics 0210 nano-technology Wave function business Ultrashort pulse Quantum Bose–Einstein condensate |
| Zdroj: | Nature |
| Popis: | The recent progress in nanotechnology1,2 and single-molecule spectroscopy3–5 paves the way for emergent cost-effective organic quantum optical technologies with potential applications in useful devices operating at ambient conditions. We harness a π-conjugated ladder-type polymer strongly coupled to a microcavity forming hybrid light–matter states, so-called exciton-polaritons, to create exciton-polariton condensates with quantum fluid properties. Obeying Bose statistics, exciton-polaritons exhibit an extreme nonlinearity when undergoing bosonic stimulation6, which we have managed to trigger at the single-photon level, thereby providing an efficient way for all-optical ultrafast control over the macroscopic condensate wavefunction. Here, we utilize stable excitons dressed with high-energy molecular vibrations, allowing for single-photon nonlinear operation at ambient conditions. This opens new horizons for practical implementations like sub-picosecond switching, amplification and all-optical logic at the fundamental quantum limit. Nonlinearity induced by a single photon is desirable because it can drive power consumption of optical devices to their fundamental quantum limit, and is demonstrated here at room temperature. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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