Dirac particles, massless relativistic entities, obey linear energy dispersions and hold important implication in particle physics. Recent discovery of Dirac fermions in condensed matter systems including graphene and topological insulators raises gr
eat interests to explore relativistic properties associated with Dirac physics in solid-state materials. In addition, there are stimulating research activities to engineer Dirac paricles to eludicte their physical properties in a controllable setting. One of the successful platforms is the ultracold atom-optical lattice system, whose dynamics can be manipulated in a clean environment. A microcavity exciton-polariton-lattice system provides an alternative route with an advantage of forming high-orbital condensation in non-equilibrium conditions, which enables to explore novel quantum orbital order in two dimensions. Here we directly map the liner dispersions near the Dirac points, the vertices of the first hexagonal Brillouin zone from exciton-polariton condensates trapped in a triangular lattice. The associated velocity values are ~ 0.9 - 2*10^8 cm/s, which are consistent with the theoretical estimate 1*10^8 cm/s with a 2 mu m-lattice constant. We envision that the exciton-polariton condensates in lattices would be a promising solid-state platform, where the system order parameter can be accesses in both real and momentum spaces. We furthermore explore unique phenomena revealing quantum bose nature such as superfluidity and distinct features analogous to quantum Hall effect pertinent to time-reversal symmetry.
We present a simple method to create an in-plane lateral potential in a semiconductor microcavity using a metal thin-film. Two types of potential are produced: a circular aperture and a one-dimensional (1D) periodic grating pattern. The amplitude of
the potential induced by a 24 nm-6 nm Au/Ti film is on the order of a few hundreds of ueV measured at 6 ~ 8 K. Since the metal layer makes the electromagnetic fields to be close to zero at the metal-semiconductor interface, the photon mode is confined more inside of the cavity. As a consequence, the effective cavity length is reduced under the metal film, and the corresponding cavity resonance is blue-shifted. Our experimental results are in a good agreement with theoretical estimates. In addition, by applying a DC electric voltage to the metal film, we are able to modify the quantum well exciton mode due to the quantum confined Stark effect, inducing a ~ 1 meV potential at ~ 20 kV/cm. Our method produces a controllable in-plane spatial trap potential for lower exciton-polaritons (LPs), which can be a building block towards 1D arrays and 2D lattices of LP condensates.
