Refereed journal article or data article (A1)
Bose-Einstein condensation in a plasmonic lattice
List of Authors: Hakala TK, Moilanen AJ, Väkeväinen AI, Guo R, Martikainen JP, Daskalakis KS, Rekola HT, Julku A, Törmä P
Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Nature Physics
Journal name in source: NATURE PHYSICS
Journal acronym: NAT PHYS
Volume number: 14
Issue number: 7
Start page: 739
End page: 744
Number of pages: 7
ISSN: 1745-2473
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-018-0109-9
Abstract
Bose-Einstein condensation is a remarkable manifestation of quantum statistics and macroscopic quantum coherence. Superconductivity and superfluidity have their origin in Bose-Einstein condensation. Ultracold quantum gases have provided condensates close to the original ideas of Bose and Einstein, while condensation of polaritons and magnons has introduced novel concepts of non-equilibrium condensation. Here, we demonstrate a Bose-Einstein condensate of surface plasmon polaritons in lattice modes of a metal nanoparticle array. Interaction of the nanoscale-confined surface plasmons with a room-temperature bath of dye molecules enables thermalization and condensation in picoseconds. The ultrafast thermalization and condensation dynamics are revealed by an experiment that exploits thermalization under propagation and the open-cavity character of the system. A crossover from a Bose-Einstein condensate to usual lasing is realized by tailoring the band structure. This new condensate of surface plasmon lattice excitations has promise for future technologies due to its ultrafast, room-temperature and on-chip nature.
Bose-Einstein condensation is a remarkable manifestation of quantum statistics and macroscopic quantum coherence. Superconductivity and superfluidity have their origin in Bose-Einstein condensation. Ultracold quantum gases have provided condensates close to the original ideas of Bose and Einstein, while condensation of polaritons and magnons has introduced novel concepts of non-equilibrium condensation. Here, we demonstrate a Bose-Einstein condensate of surface plasmon polaritons in lattice modes of a metal nanoparticle array. Interaction of the nanoscale-confined surface plasmons with a room-temperature bath of dye molecules enables thermalization and condensation in picoseconds. The ultrafast thermalization and condensation dynamics are revealed by an experiment that exploits thermalization under propagation and the open-cavity character of the system. A crossover from a Bose-Einstein condensate to usual lasing is realized by tailoring the band structure. This new condensate of surface plasmon lattice excitations has promise for future technologies due to its ultrafast, room-temperature and on-chip nature.
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