We demonstrate experimentally that stimulated scattering of exciton-polaritons in a semiconductor microcavity in the strong coupling regime results in a dramatic build-up of the circular polarization degree of light emitted by the cavity. Moreover, we show that the polarization of the emitted light can be different from the polarization of the pumping light, e.g., pumping with a linearly polarized beam we detect a circularly polarized emission. This proves that the stimulated scattering of polaritons selects and amplifies a given polarization and inhibits all spin-relaxation processes. We believe that strong coupling microcavities can be used as building blocks for spin-dependent optoelectronic devices aimed at manipulations with the polarization of light on a micro- to nano-scale.

Original languageEnglish
Article number035320
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume70
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2004
Externally publishedYes

    Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

ID: 39911822