Organic single-photon switch
Abstract
The recent progress in nanotechnology [1,2] and single-molecule spectroscopy [3-5] paves the way for cost-effective organic quantum optical technologies emergent with a promise to real-life devices operating at ambient conditions. In this letter, we harness -conjugated segments of an organic ladder-type polymer strongly coupled to a microcavity forming correlated collective dressed states of light, so-called of exciton-polariton condensates. We explore an efficient way for all-optical ultra-fast control over the macroscopic condensate wavefunction via a single photon. Obeying Bose statistics, exciton-polaritons exhibit an extreme nonlinearity undergoing bosonic stimulation [6] which we have managed to trigger at the single-photon level. Relying on the nature of organic matter to sustain stable excitons dressed with high energy molecular vibrations we have developed a principle that allows for single-photon nonlinearity operation at ambient conditions opening the door for practical implementations like sub-picosecond switching, amplification and all-optical logic at the fundamental limit of single light quanta.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2005.05811,
title = {Organic single-photon switch},
author = {Anton Zasedatelev and Anton V. Baranikov and Denis Sannikov and Darius Urbonas and Fabio Scafirimuto and Vladislav Yu. Shishkov and Evgeny S. Andrianov and Yurii E. Lozovik and Ullrich Scherf and Thilo Stöferle and Rainer F. Mahrt and Pavlos G. Lagoudakis},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.05811},
year = {2021}
}