title: An electrically pumped polariton laser.
abstract: Conventional semiconductor laser emission relies on stimulated emission of photons, which sets stringent requirements on the minimum amount of energy necessary for its operation. In comparison, exciton-polaritons in strongly coupled quantum well microcavities can undergo stimulated scattering that promises more energy-efficient generation of coherent light by 'polariton lasers'. Polariton laser operation has been demonstrated in optically pumped semiconductor microcavities at temperatures up to room temperature, and such lasers can outperform their weak-coupling counterparts in that they have a lower threshold density. Even though polariton diodes have been realized, electrically pumped polariton laser operation, which is essential for practical applications, has not been achieved until now. Here we present an electrically pumped polariton laser based on a microcavity containing multiple quantum wells. To prove polariton laser emission unambiguously, we apply a magnetic field and probe the hybrid light-matter nature of the polaritons. Our results represent an important step towards the practical implementation of polaritonic light sources and electrically injected condensates, and can be extended to room-temperature operation using wide-bandgap materials.
authors.affiliation: Technische Physik and Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen-Research Center for Complex Material Systems, Universität Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Am Hubland, Germany. christian.schneider@physik.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimi-Iman
authors.forename: Na Young
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Ivan G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Savenko
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amthor
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lermer
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Worschech
authors.forename: Vladimir D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Kulakovskii
authors.forename: Ivan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Shelykh
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamp
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reitzenstein
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forchel
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Höfling