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Vincenzo Savona

Bio: Vincenzo Savona is an academic researcher from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. The author has contributed to research in topics: Polariton & Exciton. The author has an hindex of 44, co-authored 220 publications receiving 8479 citations. Previous affiliations of Vincenzo Savona include Humboldt State University & Humboldt University of Berlin.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
28 Sep 2006-Nature
TL;DR: A comprehensive set of experiments giving compelling evidence for BEC of polaritons of bosonic quasi-particles are detailed, which indicate the spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase.
Abstract: Phase transitions to quantum condensed phases—such as Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), superfluidity, and superconductivity—have long fascinated scientists, as they bring pure quantum effects to a macroscopic scale. BEC has, for example, famously been demonstrated in dilute atom gas of rubidium atoms at temperatures below 200 nanokelvin. Much effort has been devoted to finding a solid-state system in which BEC can take place. Promising candidate systems are semiconductor microcavities, in which photons are confined and strongly coupled to electronic excitations, leading to the creation of exciton polaritons. These bosonic quasi-particles are 109 times lighter than rubidium atoms, thus theoretically permitting BEC to occur at standard cryogenic temperatures. Here we detail a comprehensive set of experiments giving compelling evidence for BEC of polaritons. Above a critical density, we observe massive occupation of the ground state developing from a polariton gas at thermal equilibrium at 19 K, an increase of temporal coherence, and the build-up of long-range spatial coherence and linear polarization, all of which indicate the spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase. Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), a form of matter first postulated in 1924, has famously been demonstrated in dilute atomic gases at ultra-low temperatures. Much effort is now being devoted to exploring solid-state systems in which BEC can occur. In theory semiconductor microcavities, where photons are confined and coupled to electronic excitations leading to the creation of polaritons, could allow BEC at standard cryogenic temperatures. Kasprzak et al. now present experiments in which polaritons are excited in such a microcavity. Above a critical polariton density, spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase occurs, indicating a solid-state BEC. BEC should also be possible at higher temperatures if coupling of light with solid excitations is sufficiently strong. Demokritov et al. have achieved just that, BEC at room temperature in a gas of magnons, which are a type of magnetic excitation. This paper presents a comprehensive set of experiments in which polaritons are excited in a semiconductor microcavity. Above a critical density of polaritons, massive occupation of the ground state at 19 K is observed and various pieces of experimental evidence point to a spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase.

2,527 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the system of one or several quantum wells embedded in a planar semiconductor Fabry-Perot microcavity with distributed Bragg reflectors is studied in the framework of both a semiclassical and a full quantum theory.

451 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a study of the elastic exciton-exciton Coulomb scattering in a semiconductor quantum well is presented, including the interexciton exchange of carriers and the spin degrees of freedom.
Abstract: A study of the elastic exciton-exciton Coulomb scattering in a semiconductor quantum well is presented, including the interexciton exchange of carriers and the spin degrees of freedom. The theoretical results show that electron-electron and hole-hole exchanges are the dominant mechanisms of interaction, while the classical direct term is negligible. The density-dependent homogeneous linewidth is calculated within the Born approximation and good agreement with the existing experimental data is obtained. Owing to the interexciton exchange of carriers, collisions lead to spin relaxation as actually observed in recent time-resolved photoluminescence experiments. [S0163-1829(98)06736-8].

345 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Couple quantum modes can be strongly sensitive at the single quantum level, even if nonlinear interactions are modest, and solid-state implementations based on the tunneling of polaritons between quantum boxes or their parametric modes in a microcavity are considered.
Abstract: Single photon emitters often rely on a strong nonlinearity to make the behavior of a quantum mode susceptible to a change in the number of quanta between one and two. In most systems, the strength of nonlinearity is weak, such that changes at the single quantum level have little effect. Here, we consider coupled quantum modes and find that they can be strongly sensitive at the single quantum level, even if nonlinear interactions are modest. As examples, we consider solid-state implementations based on the tunneling of polaritons between quantum boxes or their parametric modes in a microcavity. We find that these systems can act as promising single photon emitters.

310 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a theoretical model for the investigation of the dynamics of microcavity polaritons in the strong-coupling regime is proposed, and the resulting photoluminescence dynamics at small angles is studied as a function of the angle of observation, the cavity detuning, the lattice, and free-carrier temperature.
Abstract: A theoretical model for the investigation of the dynamics of microcavity polaritons in the strong-coupling regime is proposed. The resulting photoluminescence dynamics at small angles is studied as a function of the angle of observation, the cavity detuning, the lattice, and the free-carrier temperature. For small detunings, the strong dispersion of the microcavity polaritons at small angles results in a bottleneck relaxation dynamics, similar to the bulk one. However, important differences, related to the reduced dimensionality of the system, are found. In particular, a larger emission from the upper polariton with respect to the lower polariton is found for any temperature. Moreover, a two-lobe angular emission from the lower branch is also expected. In the case of large pump excess energies, when hot carriers are injected into the system, longitudinal-optical-phonon emission has also been considered as a possible polariton formation mechanism, and shown to reduce only partially the effects summarized above.

269 citations


Cited by
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Proceedings Article
14 Jul 1996
TL;DR: The striking signature of Bose condensation was the sudden appearance of a bimodal velocity distribution below the critical temperature of ~2µK.
Abstract: Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has been observed in a dilute gas of sodium atoms. A Bose-Einstein condensate consists of a macroscopic population of the ground state of the system, and is a coherent state of matter. In an ideal gas, this phase transition is purely quantum-statistical. The study of BEC in weakly interacting systems which can be controlled and observed with precision holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles.

3,530 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Topological photonics is a rapidly emerging field of research in which geometrical and topological ideas are exploited to design and control the behavior of light as mentioned in this paper, which holds great promise for applications.
Abstract: Topological photonics is a rapidly emerging field of research in which geometrical and topological ideas are exploited to design and control the behavior of light. Drawing inspiration from the discovery of the quantum Hall effects and topological insulators in condensed matter, recent advances have shown how to engineer analogous effects also for photons, leading to remarkable phenomena such as the robust unidirectional propagation of light, which hold great promise for applications. Thanks to the flexibility and diversity of photonics systems, this field is also opening up new opportunities to realize exotic topological models and to probe and exploit topological effects in new ways. This article reviews experimental and theoretical developments in topological photonics across a wide range of experimental platforms, including photonic crystals, waveguides, metamaterials, cavities, optomechanics, silicon photonics, and circuit QED. A discussion of how changing the dimensionality and symmetries of photonics systems has allowed for the realization of different topological phases is offered, and progress in understanding the interplay of topology with non-Hermitian effects, such as dissipation, is reviewed. As an exciting perspective, topological photonics can be combined with optical nonlinearities, leading toward new collective phenomena and novel strongly correlated states of light, such as an analog of the fractional quantum Hall effect.

3,052 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
28 Sep 2006-Nature
TL;DR: A comprehensive set of experiments giving compelling evidence for BEC of polaritons of bosonic quasi-particles are detailed, which indicate the spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase.
Abstract: Phase transitions to quantum condensed phases—such as Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), superfluidity, and superconductivity—have long fascinated scientists, as they bring pure quantum effects to a macroscopic scale. BEC has, for example, famously been demonstrated in dilute atom gas of rubidium atoms at temperatures below 200 nanokelvin. Much effort has been devoted to finding a solid-state system in which BEC can take place. Promising candidate systems are semiconductor microcavities, in which photons are confined and strongly coupled to electronic excitations, leading to the creation of exciton polaritons. These bosonic quasi-particles are 109 times lighter than rubidium atoms, thus theoretically permitting BEC to occur at standard cryogenic temperatures. Here we detail a comprehensive set of experiments giving compelling evidence for BEC of polaritons. Above a critical density, we observe massive occupation of the ground state developing from a polariton gas at thermal equilibrium at 19 K, an increase of temporal coherence, and the build-up of long-range spatial coherence and linear polarization, all of which indicate the spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase. Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC), a form of matter first postulated in 1924, has famously been demonstrated in dilute atomic gases at ultra-low temperatures. Much effort is now being devoted to exploring solid-state systems in which BEC can occur. In theory semiconductor microcavities, where photons are confined and coupled to electronic excitations leading to the creation of polaritons, could allow BEC at standard cryogenic temperatures. Kasprzak et al. now present experiments in which polaritons are excited in such a microcavity. Above a critical polariton density, spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase occurs, indicating a solid-state BEC. BEC should also be possible at higher temperatures if coupling of light with solid excitations is sufficiently strong. Demokritov et al. have achieved just that, BEC at room temperature in a gas of magnons, which are a type of magnetic excitation. This paper presents a comprehensive set of experiments in which polaritons are excited in a semiconductor microcavity. Above a critical density of polaritons, massive occupation of the ground state at 19 K is observed and various pieces of experimental evidence point to a spontaneous onset of a macroscopic quantum phase.

2,527 citations

01 Jan 2011

2,117 citations