Intersubband Polariton-Polariton Scattering in a Dispersive Microcavity

The ultrafast scattering dynamics of intersubband polaritons in dispersive cavities embedding GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells are studied directly within their band structure using a noncollinear pump-probe geometry with phase-stable midinfrared pulses. Selective excitation of the lower polariton at a frequency of similar to 25 THz and at a finite in-plane momentum k(parallel to) leads to the emergence of a narrowband maximum in the probe reflectivity at k(parallel to) = 0. A quantum mechanical model identifies the underlying microscopic process as stimulated coherent polariton-polariton scattering. These results mark an important milestone toward quantum control and bosonic lasing in custom-tailored polaritonic systems in the mid and far infrared.

Automated summary

The ultrafast scattering dynamics of intersubband polaritons in dispersive cavities embedding GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells were directly studied using a noncollinear pump-probe geometry with phase-stable midinfrared pulses. Selective excitation of the lower polariton at a frequency of similar to 25 THz and at a finite in-plane momentum k(parallel to) resulted in the emergence of a narrowband maximum in the probe reflectivity at k(parallel to) = 0. A quantum mechanical model identified the underlying microscopic process as stimulated coherent polariton-polariton scattering.