Zero-dimensional polariton laser in a subwavelength grating-based vertical microcavity

Abstract

Semiconductor exciton-polaritons in planar microcavities form coherent two-dimensional condensates in non-equilibrium. However, the coupling of multiple lower-dimensional polariton quantum systems, which are critical for polaritonic quantum device applications and novel cavity-lattice physics, has been limited in conventional cavity structures. Here, we demonstrate full non-destructive confinement of polaritons using a hybrid cavity composed of a single-layer subwavelength grating mirror and a distributed Bragg reflector. Single-mode polariton lasing was observed at a chosen polarization. The incorporation of a designable slab mirror in a conventional vertical cavity, when operating in the strong-coupling regime, enables the confinement, control and coupling of polariton gasses in a scalable fashion. This approach may open the door to experimental implementations of polariton-based quantum photonic devices and coupled cavity quantum electrodynamic systems.