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Laser emission from semiconductor microcavities: The role of cavity polaritons

Journal Article · · Physical Review A
;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Physics and Oregon Center for Optics, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403 (United States)
  2. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)

We present an experimental study on the role of cavity polaritons in laser emissions from a GaAs quantum-well microcavity. We show that cavity polaritons play no role in the laser emission process when the cavity is nearly resonant with the excitons. The laser emissions emerge from the bare cavity mode instead of from a cavity-polariton branch and the threshold density is much higher than the saturation density at which cavity polaritons vanish. We also show that the presence of emission doublets near the lasing threshold, which was previously taken as an evidence for laser emission from cavity polaritons, is primarily the result of spatial and/or temporal variations of exciton densities within the excitation volume. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

OSTI ID:
632577
Journal Information:
Physical Review A, Journal Name: Physical Review A Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 56; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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