Molecular polaritonics: liberating excitons by confined photons

Abstract

The poor transport properties of organic semiconductors are considered as their Achilles’ heel, severely limiting the performance of organic-electronics devices. By embedding the molecules in photonic structures, their wave functions can be hybridized with light, creating composite light-matter excitations known as polaritons. Here, we show how this phenomenon provides a novel pathway for enhanced transport, boosting its typical range from several nanometers to tens of microns. We present our ultrafast time-resolved imaging of polaritons, where we reveal a mobility transition between different types of transport mechanisms, governed by their composition. Additionally, we showcase how interferometric imaging experiments can shed further light on the processes involved in polariton transport, as indicated by our preliminary results. These experiments provide crucial insight into the mesoscopic quantities governing cavity-enhanced transport and pave the way toward novel organic electro-optic devices harnessing the coherent coupling between light and matter.