Electrically driven, topological exciton-polariton laser

将量子力学和拓扑学的基本概念转移到高度集成的半导体光学中，对于更深入地理解光与物质的相互作用和发展新的光学技术是重要的。我们的多学科研究项目位于固体物理、光学和拓扑物理之间。它将重点放在将量子力学和拓扑学的基本概念转移到激子-极化子系统，更具体地说，转移到极化子晶格和激光系统。激子极化子(Polariton)是由电磁场(腔光子)和半导体中的激发(激子)强耦合产生的准粒子。它们的特点之一是，它们的玻色子性质允许相变为玻色-爱因斯坦类型的凝聚体。这些轻物质凝聚体的耗散元素导致了单模相干激光的辐射(这使得一类新的半导体设备成为可能)。该项目的目的是研究由耦合微谐振器构成的复杂晶格系统的相干激光发射。这些晶格或链被设计成使得所得到的光学模式及其性质可以通过从拓扑学中已知的概念来描述。拓扑绝缘体是一类引人入胜的新材料，其中拓扑不变性表现为对扰动的稳健性。在对量子霍尔效应中的这种效应进行了初步观察后，这个概念启发和丰富了广泛的科学领域。其中包括冷原子、电路，当然还有光子学和半导体光学。在这个项目中，极化电子学和拓扑光子学领域的两个领先的初级研究小组将追求将拓扑效应转移到集成极化电子学和半导体激光器的共同目标。首先，我们将生产极化子晶格结构和拓扑极化子激光器，专注于电气操作领域的特殊专业知识。此外，我们还将利用空间和时间分辨光谱方法研究这种晶格结构和拓扑缺陷模的激光发射。作为该项目的一部分，我们的目标是显著扩展技术平台，这将对新激光器和微腔结构的发展产生重大影响，从而对集成半导体光学的广泛领域产生重大影响。

The transfer of fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics and topology to highly integrated semiconductor optics is important for a deeper understanding of the light-matter interaction and for the development of new optical technologies. Our multidisciplinary research project is located at the boundary between solid-state physics, optics and topological physics. It places a central focus on the transfer of fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics and topology to the exciton-polariton system and more specifically to polaritonic lattice and laser systems. Exciton polaritons (polaritons) are quasiparticles resulting from the strong coupling between the electromagnetic field (cavity photon) and an excitation in a semiconductor (excitons). They are characterized, among other things, by the fact that their bosonic nature allows for a phase transition into a Bose-Einstein-type condensate. The dissipative element of these light-matter condensates leads to a radiation of monomode, coherent laser light (which enables a new class of semiconductor devices). The aim of the project is the investigation of coherent laser emission from complex lattice systems made from coupled microresonators. These lattices or chains are designed such that the resulting optical modes and their properties can be described by concepts known from topology. Topological insulators are a fascinating new class of material where topological invariants manifest by a robustness against perturbations. After initial observations of such effects in the quantum Hall effect, the concept has inspired and enriched a wide range of scientific fields. These include cold atoms, electrical circuits, and of course photonics and semiconductor optics. In this project, two of the leading junior research groups in the field of polaritronics and topological photonics will pursue the common goal of transferring topological effects to integrated polariton and semiconductor lasers. First, we will produce polaritonic lattice structures and topological polariton lasers, focusing on the particular expertise in the field of electrical operation. Furthermore, we will then investigate the laser emission of such lattice structures and topological defect modes by means of spatially and time-resolved spectroscopy methods. Our goal is to significantly expand the technology platform as part of this project, which will have a significant impact on the development of new laser and microcavity structures and thus on the wide field of integrated semiconductor optics.