Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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PV: Plenarvorträge

PV X

PV X: Prize Talk

Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 13:15–13:45, HSZ 01

Electrically driven exciton-polariton lasers — •Sven Höfling — SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, United Kingdom --- Laureate of the Walter-Schottky-Prize

Semiconductor diode lasers play a major role in everyday life in our information society. These lasers generate coherent light by stimulated emission of photons. In contrast, laser-like operation can be obtained also by stimulated scattering of bosonic quasi-particles called exciton-polaritons into the ground state of strongly coupled light-matter systems in microcavities. This polariton laser regime can be reached with pump thresholds much lower than needed for conventional laser operation. The exciton-polaritons decay spontaneously by the leakage of photons from the microcavity, which produces a monochromatic and coherent light output above threshold. By utilizing a magnetic field as a tool and probe for polaritonic lasing, exciton-polariton laser operation under electrical pumping is demonstrated, which is essential for developing practical applications.