Molecular Monolayer Strong Coupling in Dielectric Soft Microcavities

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Quantum Optics

Background:

• Strong coupling between light and matter is crucial for quantum technologies.
• Whispering gallery modes in dielectric microspheres offer high-quality optical cavities.
• J-aggregated dye molecules provide a robust system for light-matter interaction studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate strong coupling between J-aggregated dye molecules and microsphere whispering gallery modes.
• To explore the effect of dye layer thickness on the strength of light-matter interaction.
• To validate experimental findings with theoretical models and simulations.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of J-aggregated dye molecule layers on dielectric microspheres.
• Characterization of optical properties using spectroscopy at room temperature.
• Comparison of experimental data with 2D numerical simulations and a coupled oscillator model.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated strong coupling between dye molecules and microsphere whispering gallery modes.
• Observed an increase in Rabi splitting from 56 meV (1 layer) to 94 meV (4 layers) with increasing dye layers.
• Achieved good agreement between experimental results and theoretical models.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully demonstrates tunable strong light-matter coupling using J-aggregated dye molecules and microsphere cavities.
• The findings pave the way for integrating molecule-cavity systems in microfluidic environments.
• This work provides a foundation for developing novel photonic devices and sensors.