Mitko Oldfield, Monash
Polaritons (exciton-polaritons) are of significant importance as they are capable of forming a Bose-Einstein condensates, and therefore superfluids, at room temperature. Polaritons and polariton condensates have previously been formed, but typically in cryogenic conditions, or in a system with high complexity, cost, and a lack of scalability.
Here, we have produced polariton condensates at room temperature, at low thresholds, in spin-coated perovskite microcavities, offering an effective and scalable step towards the realisation of this quantum phenomenon in usable devices.
About the presenter
Mitko Oldfield is an experimental physicist specialising in terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and exciton-polariton condensation, working with A/Prof Agustin Schiffrin and Dr Gary Beane at Monash University within FLEET’s research theme 2 and research theme 3. Mikto’s research focuses on forming a polariton condensate in high Q-factor microcavities through the use of a terahertz pumping beam generated via optical rectification. The aim is a polariton condensate that is coherent both spatially and temporally in the cryogenic regime, with the potential of translating this to room temperature through the use of perovskite-based microcavities. Polariton condensation can lead to polariton lasing, a substitute for photon lasing which promises a lasing threshold two orders of magnitude lower, as there is no requirement for population inversion.