Controlling the way light interacts with material excitations is at the heart of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). In the strong-coupling regime, quantum emitters in a microresonator absorb and spontaneously re-emit a photon many times before dissipation becomes effective, giving rise to mixed light-matter eigenmodes(1-12). Recent experiments(13) in semiconductor microcavities reached a new limit of ultrastrong coupling(14), where photon exchange occurs on timescales comparable to the oscillation period of light. In this limit, ultrafast modulation of the coupling strength has been suggested to lead to unconventional QED phenomena(14,15). Although sophisticated light-matter coupling has been achieved in all three spatial dimensions, control in the fourth dimension, time, is little developed. Here we use a quantum-well waveguide structure to optically tune light-matter interaction from weak to ultrastrong and turn on maximum coupling within less than one cycle of light. In this regime, a class of extremely non-adiabatic phenomena becomes observable. In particular, we directly monitor how a coherent photon population converts to cavity polaritons during abrupt switching. This system forms a promising laboratory in which to study novel sub-cycle QED effects and represents an efficient room-temperature switching device operating at unprecedented speed.

Sub-cycle switch-on of ultrastrong light-matter interaction

TREDICUCCI, ALESSANDRO;
2009-01-01

Abstract

Controlling the way light interacts with material excitations is at the heart of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). In the strong-coupling regime, quantum emitters in a microresonator absorb and spontaneously re-emit a photon many times before dissipation becomes effective, giving rise to mixed light-matter eigenmodes(1-12). Recent experiments(13) in semiconductor microcavities reached a new limit of ultrastrong coupling(14), where photon exchange occurs on timescales comparable to the oscillation period of light. In this limit, ultrafast modulation of the coupling strength has been suggested to lead to unconventional QED phenomena(14,15). Although sophisticated light-matter coupling has been achieved in all three spatial dimensions, control in the fourth dimension, time, is little developed. Here we use a quantum-well waveguide structure to optically tune light-matter interaction from weak to ultrastrong and turn on maximum coupling within less than one cycle of light. In this regime, a class of extremely non-adiabatic phenomena becomes observable. In particular, we directly monitor how a coherent photon population converts to cavity polaritons during abrupt switching. This system forms a promising laboratory in which to study novel sub-cycle QED effects and represents an efficient room-temperature switching device operating at unprecedented speed.
2009
Gunter, G.; Anappara, A. A.; Hees, J.; Sell, A.; Biasiol, G.; Sorba, L.; De Liberato, S.; Ciuti, C.; Tredicucci, Alessandro; Leitenstorfer, A.; Huber, R.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/495211
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 507
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 453
social impact