Letter abstract. Exciton-polariton spin switches

Abstract

Integrated switching devices comprise the building blocks of ultrafast optical signal processing. As the next stage following intensity switching circular polarization switches are attracting considerable interest because of their applications in spin-based architectures. They usually take advantage of nonlinear optical effects, and require high powers and external optical elements. Semiconductor microcavities provide a significant step forward due to their low-threshold, polarization-dependent, nonlinear emission, fast operation and integrability. Here, we demonstrate a non-local, all-optical spin switch based on exciton–polaritons in a semiconductor microcavity. In the presence of a sub-threshold pump laser (dark regime), a tightly localized probe induces the switch-on of the entire pumped area. If the pump is circularly polarized, the switch is conditional on the polarization of the probe, but if it is linearly polarized, a circularly polarized probe fully determines the final polarization of the pumped area. These results set the basis for the development of spin-based logic devices, integrated in a chip.

More information

Identifiers

Catalogue record

Export record

Altmetrics