Polariton-Driven Phonon Laser
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ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18358-z OPEN Polariton-driven phonon laser D. L. Chafatinos 1, A. S. Kuznetsov2, S. Anguiano1, A. E. Bruchhausen1, A. A. Reynoso1, K. Biermann2, ✉ P. V. Santos 2 & A. Fainstein 1 Efficient generation of phonons is an important ingredient for a prospective electrically-driven phonon laser. Hybrid quantum systems combining cavity quantum electrodynamics and optomechanics constitute a novel platform with potential for operation at the extremely high frequency range (30–300 GHz). We report on laser-like phonon emission in a hybrid system 1234567890():,; that optomechanically couples polariton Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) with phonons in a semiconductor microcavity. The studied system comprises GaAs/AlAs quantum wells coupled to cavity-confined optical and vibrational modes. The non-resonant continuous wave laser excitation of a polariton BEC in an individual trap of a trap array, induces coherent mechanical self-oscillation, leading to the formation of spectral sidebands displaced by harmonics of the fundamental 20 GHz mode vibration frequency. This phonon “lasing” enhances the phonon occupation five orders of magnitude above the thermal value when tunable neighbor traps are red-shifted with respect to the pumped trap BEC emission at even harmonics of the vibration mode. These experiments, supported by a theoretical model, constitute the first demonstration of coherent cavity optomechanical phenomena with exciton polaritons, paving the way for new hybrid designs for quantum technologies, phonon lasers, and phonon-photon bidirectional translators. 1 Department of Physics, Centro Atómico Bariloche & Instituto Balseiro (CNEA) and CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (UNCuyo), Av. E. Bustillo 9500, R8402AGP S.C. de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina. 2 Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., ✉ Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin, Germany. email: [email protected] NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | (2020) 11:4552 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18358-z | www.nature.com/naturecommunications 1 ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18358-z ybrid devices composed of different physical compo- observation highlights the relevance of high-order resonant Hnents with complementary functionalities constitute one optomechanical coupling in these devices. A theoretical model of trending line of research for novel quantum commu- resonant polariton-driven quadratic optomechanical coupling is nication technologies for signal storage, processing, conversion, introduced to describe the experimental observations. Conclu- and transmission1. Cavity optomechanics2 constitutes one sions are drawn showing that the findings contribute to devel- domain, in which hybrid designs have been envisaged both for oping new directions in the optomechanics and cavity-polariton the test of fundamental quantum physics at the mesoscopic fields, with applications in the technologically relevant extremely level, as well as for new functionalities3.Incavityopto- high-frequency range (30–300 GHz). mechanics photons are confined and strongly coupled to vibrational degrees of freedom, thus leading, under appropriate Results conditions, to dynamical back-action phenomena, including The polariton optomechanical device. The studied system con- optically induced coherent self-oscillation of the mechanical μ 4,5 sists of cavity polaritons in m-sized traps created by micro- mode and, conversely, to laser cooling of the mechanical 26 6–9 structuring the spacer of an (Al,Ga)As microcavity . The lateral mode,evendowntothequantumgroundstate . One appli- spacer modulation creates confinement potentials in 2D cation of cavity optomechanics is in the bidirectional conversion (wires and stripes), 3D (dots), as well as dot arrays consisting of between signals of contrastingly different frequency, for exam- non-etched areas surrounded by etched barriers (see a detailed ple, between classical microwaves and optical light10–12,with 13 description of the structure in the Supplementary Note 1). These prospects for the transfer of quantum states . Cavity polar- polariton traps were studied by low-temperature PL in ref. 26. The itons, the strongly coupled quantum states combining an exci- fi fi sample is in the strong coupling regime both in the etched and ton (as a two-level arti cial atom) and a cavity-con ned photon, non-etched regions, leading to microcavity polaritons in these are the fundamental excitations of another hybrid quantum 14 two regions with different energies and photon/exciton content. system . Since the initial discovery of cavity polaritons in BECs can be induced in the traps both with nonresonant and semiconductor microcavities, their Bose–Einstein condensation 24 15 fl 16 17 resonant excitation. As previously reported for similar planar (BEC) , super uidity ,lasing , also under electrical pump- 25 fi 18 19 and pillar microcavities, these structures also con ne breathing- ing , and multistable behavior have been reported. like longitudinal vibrations polarized along the growth direction, Hybrid quantum systems combining both cavity quantum z, with a fundamental frequency around ν0 20 GHz and electrodynamics and cavity optomechanics have been theoreti- m overtones at νn ¼ð1 þ 2nÞν0 . We will concentrate here on cally proposed20,21, with predictions of cooling at the single- m m experiments performed on a 40-μm-wide stripe (i.e., with weak polariton level, peculiar quantum statistics, and coupling to lateral confinement), as well as on a square array of coupled mechanical modes of both dispersive and dissipative nature. square traps of 1.6 μm lateral size separated by 3.2-μm-wide Cavity optomechanics with a polariton BEC opens intriguing etched regions. perspectives, particularly in view of the potential access to an optomechanical strong-coupling regime, and the possibility of using vibrations to actuate on such a macroscopic quantum fluid. Optomechanically induced amplification. Figure 1a, b shows the μ Indeed, the strength of the optomechanical interaction in spectrally and spatially resolved PL image of the 40- m-wide conventional photon cavity optomechanics is quantified by the polariton stripe recorded at 5 K. The photonic mode in this 4g2n ¼ 0 cav microstructure is slightly negatively detuned with respect to the optomechanical cooperativity, C κΓ . Here, g0 is the single- m QW heavy-hole exciton state. The PL was nonresonantly excited photon optomechanical coupling factor, ncav is the number of using a Ti-Sapphire cw laser (1.631 eV) with pump powers PPump photons in the cavity, and κ and Γ are the photon and m below, and above the condensation threshold power, PTh. At low mechanical decay rates, respectively2. For a polariton BEC one = −4 powers (Fig. 1a, PPump 10 PTh), the closely packed laterally expects strongly enhanced values of the cooperativity C due to the confined levels in the stripe can be identified. Above threshold = very large coherent population of the condensate, coherence (Fig. 1b, PPump 2.3 PTh), the polariton BEC is evidenced by the times that can be two orders of magnitude larger than the photon narrowing and concentration of the emission at the bottom of the lifetime in the cavity, and optomechanical coupling interactions trap, as well as by the blueshift of the states induced by mediated by the excitons that can be resonantly enhanced22. polariton–polariton interactions mediated by their excitonic Hybrid optomechanical systems based on BEC have, to the best of component, as well as polariton interactions with the excitonic our knowledge, so far only been demonstrated with cold atoms in reservoir17. cavities coupled to low-frequency kHz vibrational degrees of Figure 1c–f summarize the results of a two-laser OMIA freedom23. experiment27, performed on this 40-μm-wide stripe. The first It is the purpose of this paper to investigate the rich physics (pump) laser creates a BEC in the stripe. The second weak emerging from the coupling of a polariton BEC in a semi- (probe) laser was scanned from higher to lower energies and conductor microcavity with super-high-frequency vibrations through the condensate energy (details are provided in the confined in the same resonator24,25. The studied system contains Supplementary Note 2). The color map in Fig. 1c shows the PL GaAs/AlAs quantum wells (as two-level artificial atoms) coupled intensity as a function of the probe laser energy. Figure 1d to cavity-confined optical and vibrational modes. Planar semi- displays the integrated PL intensity, showing the emission of the conductor microcavities are microstructured to laterally confine closely spaced polariton states of the stripe. OMIA is evidenced the polaritons, and the phonons, in stripes and in trap arrays. by the variation of the PL intensity at the peak of the BEC Optomechanically induced amplification (OMIA) experiments emission as a function of the probe laser energy, which is also are presented to evidence the efficient coupling between the displayed in Fig. 1e. Notably, a series of peaks separated by the resulting exciton–polariton condensates to 20 GHz breathing-like energy of the fundamental breathing-like cavity-confined vibra- vibrations confined in the same cavity. High-resolution spatially tional mode (~20 GHz ~ 83 μeV) appears at the high-energy side resolved low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) experiments of the BEC peak. A fit of the OMIA peak detunings, showing a evidence the emergence of mechanical self-oscillation, when clear lineal dependence,