Room-Temperature Bose–Einstein Condensation of Cavity Exciton–Polaritons in a Polymer
Abstract
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter in which extensive collective coherence leads to intriguing macroscopic quantum phenomena. In crystalline semiconductor microcavities, bosonic quasiparticles, known as exciton-polaritons, can be created through strong coupling between bound electron-hole pairs and the photon field. Recently, a non-equilibrium BEC (ref. ) and superfluidity have been demonstrated in such structures. With organic crystals grown inside dielectric microcavities, signatures of polariton lasing have been observed. However, owing to the deleterious effects of disorder and material imperfection on the condensed phase, only crystalline materials of the highest quality have been used until now. Here we demonstrate non-equilibrium BEC of exciton-polaritons in a polymer-filled microcavity at room temperature. We observe thermalization of polaritons and, above a critical excitation density, clear evidence of condensation at zero in-plane momentum, namely nonlinear behaviour, blueshifted emission and long-range coherence. The key signatures distinguishing the behaviour from conventional photon lasing are presented. As no crystal growth is involved, our approach radically reduces the complexity of experiments to investigate BEC physics and paves the way for a new generation of opto-electronic devices, taking advantage of the processability and flexibility of polymers.
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Bose-Einstein condensation and polariton lasing are possible in microcavities, even at room temperature.
“The possibilities of achieving Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) [264-267] and polariton lasing [137,268-270], even at room temperature, are some of the current topics in the field of microcavity research.”
From Metal Oxide Thin Films for Advanced Photonic Applications (2026) · cites this paper as [267]
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“The possibilities of achieving Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) [264–267] and polariton lasing [137,268–270], even at room temperature, are some of the current topics in the field of microcavity research.”
- Authors
- Plumhof, J. D., Stöferle, T., Mai, L., Scherf, U., & Mahrt, R. F.
- Affiliations
- IBM Research - Zurich (CH)
- University of Wuppertal (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Stöferle, Thilo
- Venue
- Nature Materials
- Published
- 2013-12-08
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 247-252
- ISSN
- 1476-1122 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4660
- OpenAlex
- W2018494532
- Cited by
- 745
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 68 · 2020: 61 · 2019: 60 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 90 · 2016: 57 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 24.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Nature Materials (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Strong Light-Matter Interactions
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Devices
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Plasmonic and Surface Plasmon Research
- Keywords
- Bose-Einstein condensation, exciton-polaritons, cavity quantum electrodynamics, polymer microcavities, room-temperature condensation, non-equilibrium condensation, thermalization, nonlinear optical properties, long-range coherence, organic semiconductors, exciton-polariton lasing
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