Final Report Summary - EXCIPOL (Exciton-Polaritons: New Physics and Long Term Applications)
The Excipol project has achieved a number of notable outcomes. It is based on the physics of exciton-polaritons, coupled states of matter particles (excitons) and light (photons). Such polaritons interact strongly with one another, and give rise to very strong non-linearities as their density is increased. A variety of new phenomena have been observed within the project. Amongst the most significant include the observation of new types of spatial pattern not observed previously in other physical systems (for example pentagon shapes), the definitive observation of polariton formation with atomically thin 2D materials, opening up the field to room temperature operation, and a new type of phase transition between localised and extended densely occupied phases. Overall the project has achieved results of significance across a number of related fields including high density soliton and condensate physics, pattern formation and more technologically the development of open-access cavity systems shown to be a highly versatile platform for pushing forward the field of polariton phenomena.