Organic Polariton Microcavities for Ultra-Low Energy Switching

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop optical computing components that are fast, energy efficient, and integrateable into a larger photonic system. The approach is to build on the recent advancements in the understanding and use of the polaritonic states of strongly light-mater-coupled systems, and to demonstrate a room temperature low-threshold polariton laser and a polariton-mediated all-optical switch, both primary components of an envisioned all-optical computing architecture. Although a laser and an optical switch are conceptually quite different, the project will show that the underlying physics of strong light-matter coupling can be leveraged in both cases to create devices with ultra-low thresholds for switching and lasing. Polaritonic effects will be strongly enhanced in the record-high optically-absorptive molecular aggregates, that investigators recently demonstrated, enabling first demonstrations of compact, room-temperature polaritonic structures. The proposed polaritonic devices are also scalable and integrateable, and could ultimately form the building blocks of an integrated all-optical computing architecture. Optical computing has the potential to create a paradigm shift in the way information is transmitted and manipulated, by creating all-optical data networks and computational circuits with nearly unlimited bandwidth and unprecedented energy efficiency. This long-standing goal has thus far been difficult to achieve due to a lack of appropriate material sets, light-matter interactions, and device designs. Recent advancements, however, that this proposal builds on, can enable construction of optical computing components that for the first-time utilize the physical phenomenon of the strong light-matter coupling, delivering a technological breakthrough, and intellectually stimulating a new field of research.