Electronic Light–Matter Strong Coupling in Nanofluidic Fabry–Pérot Cavities

Abstract

Electronic light−matter strong coupling has been limited to solid molecular films due to the challenge of preparing optical cavities with nanoscale dimensions. Here we report a technique to fabricate such Fabry− Peŕot nanocavities in which solutions can be introduced such that light− molecule interactions can be studied at will in the liquid phase. We illustrate the versatility of these cavities by studying the emission properties of Chlorin e6 solutions in both the weak and strong coupling regimes as a function of cavity detuning. Liquid nanocavities will broaden the investigation of strong coupling to many solution-based molecular processes.

Strong light–matter interactions: a new direction within chemistry

“…It is also possible to make cavities using liquid medium as the active layer. However, this is technologically difficult for electronic transitions due to the nanometric scale of the cavity 111. For strong coupling to molecular vibrations, it is more easily achievable to have an active liquid medium, as it requires a cavity length at the micrometer scale 112…”

“…Not only investigations on the emission quantum yield from solid-state Fabry–Pérot cavities exist, but also liquid cavities have been explored. The emission quantum yield of Chlorin e6 dissolved in dimethylformamide was determined using low (weak coupling regime) or high (strong coupling regime) concentrations of Ce6 111. The quantum yield was determined relative to a dilute solution of Ce6.…”

Cavity quantum-electrodynamical polaritonically enhanced electron-phonon coupling and its influence on superconductivity

“…However, our above results are ground-state modifications that are still qualitatively valid even in dissipative systems ( 5 , 39 ). Moreover, for organic molecules in cavities, the ultrastrong-coupling regime was even achieved in bad cavities with small quality factors ( 40 ). Here, we predict changes of T c in a few percent range for few-percent changes of the electron-phonon coupling λ.…”

Molecular Monolayer Strong Coupling in Dielectric Soft Microcavities

“…On the other hand, monolithic cavities, such as Fabry–Perot resonators, provide lower losses and narrower spectra but typically require more complex fabrication. 25 It is in this context that dielectric microspheres offer an attractive alternative. Microspheres support spectrally sharp modes called whispering gallery modes (WGMs) that have a good degree of electric-field localization.…”