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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Tunable spin multistability of cavity polaritons for multichannel optical switching

Szu-Cheng Cheng, Ting-Wei Chen

Published Dec 23, 2025• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of spin multistability and hysteresis in resonantly pumped exciton–polaritons within semiconductor microcavities. This multistable behavior arises from the nonlinear, polarization-dependent anisotropy of polariton–polariton interactions. Unlike conventional optical bistability in spinless nonlinear optical systems, the dynamics are governed by spin-selective coupling. We calculate the steady-state polariton density and degree of circular polarization of the intracavity polariton field, demonstrating that for a fixed pump polarization, wave vector, and detuning, the degree of polarization could take on multiple values depending on the pump strength. This spin-sensitive multistability lays the groundwork for multichannel optical switches governed not just by total pump intensity but also by its pump polarization.

DOI
10.1364/josab.577863

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We present a theoretical study of spin multistability and hysteresis in resonantly pumped exciton–polaritons within semiconductor microcavities. This multistable behavior arises from the nonlinear, polarization-dependent anisotropy of polariton–polariton interactions. Unlike conventional optical bistability in spinless nonlinear optical systems, the dynamics are governed by spin-selective coupling. We calculate the steady-state polariton density and degree of circular polarization of the intracavity polariton field, demonstrating that for a fixed pump polarization, wave vector, and detuning, the degree of polarization could take on multiple values depending on the pump strength. This spin-sensitive multistability lays the groundwork for multichannel optical switches governed not just by total pump intensity but also by its pump polarization.
New effects of polarization multistability and polarization hysteresis in a coherently driven polariton system in a semiconductor microcavity are predicted and theoretically analyzed. The multistability arises due to polarization-dependent polariton-polariton interactions and can be revealed in polarization resolved photoluminescence experiments. The pumping power required to observe this effect is 4 orders of magnitude lower than the characteristic pumping power in conventional bistable optical systems.
The polarization dependence of nonequilibrium transitions in a multistable cavity-polariton system is studied under nanosecond-long resonant optical excitation at normal and magic angle incidences with various polarizations of the pump beam. The temporal correlations between the frequency, intensity, and optical polarization of the intracavity field, which all undergo sharp threshold-like changes due to the spin-dependent interaction of cavity polaritons, are visualized. The observed dynamics cannot be reproduced within the conventional semiclassical model based on the Gross-Pitaevskii equations. To explain the observed phenomena, it is necessary to take into account the unpolarized exciton reservoir that brings on an additional blue shift of bright excitons, the same for the ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{+}$ and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ polarization components. This model explains the effect of polarization instability under both pulsed- and continuous-wave resonant excitation conditions, consistently with the spin ring pattern formation that has recently been observed under Gaussian-shaped excitation.
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We present a model for the theoretical description of the dynamics of a system of spinor cavity polaritons in real space and time, accounting for all relevant types of the interactions and effective magnetic fields. We apply our general formalism for the consideration of the polarization dynamics of the coherently driven, one-dimensional polariton channel. We investigate the effect of the temperature and the longitudinal-transverse splitting on the spin (polarization) multistability and hysteresis arising from the polarization-dependent polariton-polariton interaction. We show that the effect of the phase of the driving laser pump is as important as its strength, and demonstrate that the multistability behavior can survive up to high temperatures in the presence of longitudinal-transverse splitting.
We study the nonlinear dynamics of spinor exciton-polaritons in resonantly pumped microcavities. Using steady-state analysis and computing eigenfrequencies via Bogoliubov-like linearization, we show that multiple Hopf bifurcations beyond conventional bistability occur within specific power regimes and are not associated with stable solutions of the system. Owing to nonlinear excitonic interactions, these transitions occur at different pump powers during forward and backward pump sweeps, leading to pronounced hysteresis between fixed-point and limit-cycle states. In the spinor regime, multiple limit-cycle branches and associated dynamical hysteresis loops emerge due to the interplay of polarization coupling and spin-dependent nonlinearities. We show how the locations of the bifurcation points can be tuned by the pump frequency and other system parameters. Our results identify synchronization as the organizing principle underlying limit-cycle formation, dynamical hysteresis, and bifurcation cascades in driven spinor exciton-polariton microcavities.
New effects of self-organization and polarization pattern formation in semiconductor microcavities, operating in the nonlinear regime, are predicted and theoretically analyzed. We show that a spatially inhomogeneous elliptically polarized optical cw pump leads to the formation of a strongly circularly polarized ring in real space. This effect is due to the polarization multistability of cavity polaritons which was recently predicted. The possible switching between different stable configurations allows the realization of a localized spin memory element, suitable for an optical data storage device.