Polariton condensation in an organic microcavity utilising a hybrid metal-DBR mirror

We have developed a simplified approach to fabricate high-reflectivity mirrors suitable for applications in a strongly-coupled organic-semiconductor microcavity. Such mirrors are based on a small number of quarter-wave dielectric pairs deposited on top of a thick silver film that combine high reflectivity and broad reflectivity bandwidth. Using this approach, we construct a microcavity containing the molecular dye BODIPY-Br in which the bottom cavity mirror is composed of a silver layer coated by a SiO2 and a Nb2O5 film, and show that this cavity undergoes polariton condensation at a similar threshold to that of a control cavity whose bottom mirror consists of ten quarter-wave dielectric pairs. We observe, however, that the roughness of the hybrid mirror-caused by limited adhesion between the silver and the dielectric pair-apparently prevents complete collapse of the population to the ground polariton state above the condensation threshold.

Automated summary

A simplified approach for fabricating high-reflectivity mirrors suitable for organic-semiconductor microcavity applications has been developed. This method was used to construct a microcavity with a molecular dye, revealing that the roughness of the hybrid mirror affects the collapse of the population above the condensation threshold.