Coherent control of polariton parametric scattering in semiconductor microcavities.

In a pump-probe experiment, we have been able to control, with phase-locked probe pulses, the ultrafast nonlinear optical emission of a semiconductor microcavity, arising from polariton parametric amplification. This evidences the coherence of the polariton population near k=0, even for delays much longer than the pulse width. The control of a large population at k=0 is possible although the probe pulses are much weaker than the large polarization they control. With rising pump power the dynamics of the scattering get faster. Just above threshold the parametric scattering process shows unexpected long coherence times, whereas when pump power is risen the contrast decays due to a significant pump reservoir depletion. The weak pulses at normal incidence control the whole angular emission pattern of the microcavity.

Parametric polariton amplification in semiconductor microcavities.

We present novel experimental results demonstrating the coherence properties of the nonlinear emission from semiconductor microcavities in the strong coupling regime, recently interpreted by parametric polariton four-wave mixing. We use a geometry corresponding to degenerate four-wave mixing. In addition to the predicted threshold dependence of the emission on the pump power and spectral blueshift, we observe a phase dependence of the amplification which is a signature of a coherent polariton wave mixing process.

Miniband transmission in a photonic crystal coupled-resonator optical waveguide.

We demonstrate in the near infrared the coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) concept that was recently proposed by Yariv et al. [Opt. Lett.24, 711 (1999)]. Two-dimensional photonic crystals have been used to define, in a GaAs-based waveguiding heterostructure, an array of micrometer-sized hexagonal cavities coupled through thin walls. With the photoexcitation of InAs quantum dots as an internal source, the transmission spectra of the coupled resonators show marked minibands and minigaps, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

Nonlinear emission of semiconductor microcavities in the strong coupling regime

We report on the nonlinear laserlike emission from semiconductor microcavities in the strong coupling regime. Under resonant continuous wave excitation we observe a highly emissive state. The energy, dispersion, and spatial extent of this state is measured and is found to be dispersionless and spatially localized. This state coexists with luminescence that follows the usual cavity-polariton dispersion. It is attributed to the amplification of luminescence by a parametric gain due to cavity-polariton scattering. Despite the resonant excitation at 1.6 K, we observe no sign of Bose-Einstein condensation nor Boser action.

Crossover from exciton to biexciton polaritons in semiconductor microcavities

Pump-probe measurements in a microcavity containing a quantum well show that a population of circularly polarized ( sigma(+)) excitons can completely inhibit the transition to sigma(-) one-exciton states by transferring the oscillator strength to the biexcitonic resonance. With increasing pump intensity the linear exciton-polariton doublet evolves into a triplet polariton structure and finally into a shifted biexciton-polariton doublet. A theoretical model of interacting excitons demonstrates that the crossover from exciton to biexciton polaritons is driven by three-exciton Coulomb correlation.