Light-matter coupling and spin-orbit interaction of polariton modes in liquid crystal optical microcavities

In this theoretical study, we explore the dispersion and basic properties of optical microcavities filled with liquid crystal (LC) media that contain embedded quantum wells. As a result of the strong coupling between cavity photons and excitons, exciton polariton quasiparticles arise in these structures. LC-filled microcavities have an advantage of the ability to manipulate the spin (polarization) of the photonic component of the polariton states by controlling the orientation of LC molecules using an external electric field. This enables the engineering of controllable synthetic Hamiltonians for the polariton eigenmodes in microcavity structures. The introduction of synthetic spin-orbit interaction via placing of the quantum wells at particular positions in the LC-filled cavity enables control over the propagation of exciton polaritons, leading to various spatial effects. Through numerical calculations, we successfully reproduce the birefringence and phenomena exhibited by exciton polaritons propagating within the microcavity plane. We also examine the conditions required for strong coupling when utilizing perovskite layers as hosts for excitons. While the strong coupling regime can be also achieved in this material system, the manifestations of the synthetic spin-orbit interaction are suppressed owing to stronger disorder and nonradiative processes. Published by the American Physical Society 2024