Terahertz electroluminescence from Dirac-Landau polaritons

• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2502.07897
• Publication Date: 2025-01-01
• Authors: Benhamou-Bui, B.; Consejo, C.; Krishtopenko, S. S.; Ruffenach, S.; Bray, C.; Torres, J.; Dzian, J.; Mardelé, F. Le; Pagot, A.; Baudry, X.; Morozov, S. V.; Mikhailov, N. N.; Dvoretskii, S. A.; Jouault, B.; Ballet, P.; Orlita, M.; Ciuti, C.; Teppe, F.
• Keywords: Quantum Physics; Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics; Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall); FOS: Physical sciences; Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Physics - Optics; Optics (physics.optics)

We report intense terahertz electroluminescence from Dirac-Landau polaritons, representing a major step toward achieving stimulated cyclotron emission and polariton-based lasers. By strongly coupling the cyclotron transitions of two-dimensional Dirac fermions in HgTe quantum wells with optical cavity modes, we observe efficient emission near the lasing threshold. This work demonstrates that polariton condensation, a process that bypasses the need for electronic population inversion, can significantly reduce the emission threshold compared to conventional mechanisms requiring high electric fields. Moreover, this concept unlocks the potential for stimulated emission in previously unsuitable narrow-gap semiconductors, as well as Dirac materials with non-equidistant Landau levels. These results open a new way for the development of compact, tunable terahertz lasers based on Landau polaritons, offering new opportunities for solid-state laser technology and applications in the terahertz gap.<br/>Manuscript and Supplementary Materials<br/>