Controlled Strong Coupling and Absence of Dark Polaritons in Microcavities with Double Quantum Wells

We demonstrate an efficient switching between strong and weak exciton-photon coupling regimes in microcavity-embedded asymmetric double quantum wells, controlled by an applied electric field. We show that a fine-tuning of the electric field leads to drastic changes in the polariton properties, with the polariton ground state being redshifted by a few meV and having acquired prominent features of a spatially indirect dipolar exciton. We study the properties of dipolar exciton polaritons, called dipolaritons, on a microscopic level and show that, unlike recent findings, they are not dark polaritons but, owing to the finite size of the exciton, are mixed states with a comparable contribution of the cavity photon, bright direct, and long-living indirect exciton modes.