Xuechu Shen

Direct Observation of Whispering Gallery Mode Polaritons and their Dispersion in a ZnO Tapered Microcavity

We report direct observation of the strong exciton-photon coupling in a ZnO tapered whispering gallery (WG) microcavity at room temperature. By scanning excitations along the tapered arm of the ZnO tetrapod using a micro-photoluminescence spectrometer with different polarizations, we observed a transition from the pure WG optical modes in the weak interaction regime to the excitonic polariton in the strong coupling regime. The experimental observations are well described by using the plane wave model including the excitonic polariton dispersion relation. This provides a direct mapping of the polariton dispersion, and thus a comprehensive picture for coupling of different excitons with differently polarized WG modes.

Comparative High Field Magneto-transport Of Rare Earth Oxypnictides With Maximum Transition Temperatures

We compare magnetotransport of the three iron-arsenide-based compounds ReFeAsO (Re=La, Sm, Nd) in very high DC and pulsed magnetic fields up to 45 and 54 T, respectively. Each sample studied exhibits a superconducting transition temperature near the maximum reported to date for that particular compound. While high magnetic fields do not suppress the superconducting state appreciably, the resistivity, Hall coefficient, and critical magnetic fields, taken together, suggest that the phenomenology and superconducting parameters of the oxypnictide superconductors bridges the gap between MgB{sub 2} and YBCO.

Whispering gallery modes in indium oxide hexagonal microcavities

The work is funded by the NSFC 973 projects and STCSM of China Grant Nos. 2004CB619004 and 2006CB921506. The authors thank the Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research for funding this collaborative research under the International Science Linkages China Program.

Stabilization of face‐centered‐cubic Mn films via epitaxial growth on GaAs(001)

The epitaxial growth of fcc Mn films on the GaAs(001) surface has been achieved. The films are studied by in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and ex situ x‐ray diffraction (XRD). The lattice parameters of the metastable Mn films are determined to be 0.362 nm. A transition region composed of a Mn‐Ga‐As alloy is formed at the Mn/GaAs interfaces and is clearly verified by XRD measurements.

Quasi-whispering gallery modes of exciton-polaritons in a ZnO microrod

We report the photoluminescence (PL) investigations of quasi-whispering gallery mode (quasi-WGM) polaritons in a ZnO microrod at room temperature. By using the confocal micro-PL spectroscopic technique, we observe the clear optical quasi-WGMs. These quasi-WGMs appeared in the ultraviolet (UV) emission region where the cavity modes strongly couple with excitons and form polaritons. The quasi-WGMs polaritons can be well described by the plane wave interference and the coupling oscillator model.

Weak lasing in one-dimensional polariton superlattices

Significance Bose–Einstein condensation of polaritons in periodically modulated cavities is a very interesting fundamental effect of the physics of many-body systems. It is also promising for application in solid-state lighting and information communication technologies. By a simple microassembling method, we created periodically modulated polariton condensates at room temperature, and observed the stabilization of the coherent condensate due to the spontaneous symmetry-breaking transition. This manifests a previously unidentified type of phase transition, leading to a novel state of matter: the weak lasing state. The optical imaging in both direct and reciprocal space provides clear evidence for the weak lasing in the specific range of the pumping intensities. Bosons with finite lifetime exhibit condensation and lasing when their influx exceeds the lasing threshold determined by the dissipative losses. In general, different one-particle states decay differently, and the bosons are usually assumed to condense in the state with the longest lifetime. Interaction between the bosons partially neglected by such an assumption can smear the lasing threshold into a threshold domain—a stable lasing many-body state exists within certain intervals of the bosonic influxes. This recently described weak lasing regime is formed by the spontaneously symmetry breaking and phase-locking self-organization of bosonic modes, which results in an essentially many-body state with a stable balance between gains and losses. Here we report, to our knowledge, the first observation of the weak lasing phase in a one-dimensional condensate of exciton–polaritons subject to a periodic potential. Real and reciprocal space photoluminescence images demonstrate that the spatial period of the condensate is twice as large as the period of the underlying periodic potential. These experiments are realized at room temperature in a ZnO microwire deposited on a silicon grating. The period doubling takes place at a critical pumping power, whereas at a lower power polariton emission images have the same periodicity as the grating.

Polariton lasing of quasi-whispering gallery modes in a ZnO microwire

We report the experimental observation of the quasi-whispering-gallery mode (quasi-WGM) polariton lasing in a one dimensional ZnO microrod cavity at room temperature. Under nonresonant optical pulsed excitation, we measure the pumping power dependence of the emission intensity and the blueshift of the polariton modes, and a fairly low lasing threshold for the quasi-WG mode is determined. We also measure the lasing threshold versus the photon-exciton detuning by dispersion simulations. These experiment results show that both of the WGMs with higher Q factors and the quasi-WGMs with lower Q factors can lase when the detuning between the optical modes and the exciton energies is optimum.

Single-crystalline polyhedral In2O3 vertical Fabry–Pérot resonators

High-quality In2O3 polyhedrons with different morphologies were fabricated and studied as vertical Fabry–Perot (FP) microcavities. By using the microphotoluminescence technique, we identified a series of FP resonant modes in such systems, whose energies lie in the visible spectral range and are scalable with the cavity size. Experimental results are in good agreement with full-wave numerical simulations and can be well fitted with a plane wave interference model. Compared with the conventional one dimensional nanowire/nanobelt FP cavities, such vertical FP microcavities have much less optical loss and provide efficient optical modulations, which may find many applications in developing optical devices.

Interface structure of fcc Mn on GaAs(001)

Temperature dependent growth of Mn on GaAs(001) and their interface structure have been studied. At 400 K, fcc Mn grows epitaxially on GaAs and a “Mn2As-type” Mn–Ga–As mixed layer sandwiched between the fcc Mn and GaAs(001) is observed. It is this transition layer that plays a critical role in the stabilization of the metastable fcc-Mn-phase on GaAs(001).

Polariton lasing in a ZnO microwire above 450 K

Exciton-polariton lasing in a one-dimensional ZnO microcavity is demonstrated at high temperature of 455 K. The massive occupation of the polariton ground state above a distinct pump power threshold is clearly demonstrated by using the angular resolved spectroscopy under non-resonant excitation. The temperature dependence of the polariton lasing threshold is well interpreted by two competing mechanisms, i.e., the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms. Michelson interference measurements are performed to investigate the temporal and spatial coherence of polariton laser, with the coherence time and coherence length being τc∼0.97 ps and rc∼0.72μm at 440 K and 400 K, respectively.