title: Ultra-low-power hybrid light-matter solitons.
abstract: New functionalities in nonlinear optics will require systems with giant optical nonlinearity as well as compatibility with photonic circuit fabrication techniques. Here we introduce a platform based on strong light-matter coupling between waveguide photons and quantum-well excitons. On a sub-millimetre length scale we generate picosecond bright temporal solitons at a pulse energy of only 0.5 pJ. From this we deduce a nonlinear refractive index three orders of magnitude larger than in any other ultrafast system. We study both temporal and spatio-temporal nonlinear effects and observe dark-bright spatio-temporal polariton solitons. Theoretical modelling of soliton formation in the strongly coupled system confirms the experimental observations. These results show the promise of our system as a high speed, low power, integrated platform for physics and devices based on strong interactions between photons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, S3 7RH Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, S3 7RH Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tinkler
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Bath, BA2 7AY Bath, UK.|ITMO University 197101, Kronverksky pr. 49, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Skryabin
authors.affiliation: ITMO University 197101, Kronverksky pr. 49, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yulin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, S3 7RH Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Royall
authors.affiliation: Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J J Thomson Avenue, CB3 0HE Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: I
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3033-4306
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Farrer
authors.affiliation: Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J J Thomson Avenue, CB3 0HE Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, S3 7RH Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Skolnick
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hounsfield Road, S3 7RH Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Krizhanovskii