Spontaneously coherent orbital coupling of counterrotating exciton polaritons in annular perovskite microcavities

• Published in: Light, science & applications Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 45
• Main Authors: Wang, Jun, Xu, Huawen, Su, Rui, Peng, Yutian, Wu, Jinqi, Liew, Timothy C. H., Xiong, Qihua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.03.2021; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 132/124; 140/125; 639/624/400/2797; 639/766/1130/2799; Applied and Technical Physics; Atomic; Classical and Continuum Physics; Condensates; Crystals; Lasers; Molecular; Optical and Plasma Physics; Optical Devices; Optics; Photonics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy
• ISSN: 2047-7538; 2095-5545; 2047-7538
• DOI: 10.1038/s41377-021-00478-w

Exciton-polariton condensation is regarded as a spontaneous macroscopic quantum phenomenon with phase ordering and collective coherence. By engineering artificial annular potential landscapes in halide perovskite semiconductor microcavities, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate the room-temperature spontaneous formation of a coherent superposition of exciton-polariton orbital states with symmetric petal-shaped patterns in real space, resulting from symmetry breaking due to the anisotropic effective potential of the birefringent perovskite crystals. The lobe numbers of such petal-shaped polariton condensates can be precisely controlled by tuning the annular potential geometry. These petal-shaped condensates form in multiple orbital states, carrying locked alternating π phase shifts and vortex–antivortex superposition cores, arising from the coupling of counterrotating exciton-polaritons in the confined circular waveguide. Our geometrically patterned microcavity exhibits promise for realizing room-temperature topological polaritonic devices and optical polaritonic switches based on periodic annular potentials.