Nonlinear interactions in an organic polariton condensate

Under the right conditions, cavity polaritons form a macroscopic condensate in the ground state. The fascinating nonlinear behaviour of this condensate is largely dictated by the strength of polariton–polariton interactions. In inorganic semiconductors, these result principally from the Coulomb interaction between Wannier–Mott excitons. Such interactions are considerably weaker for the tightly bound Frenkel excitons characteristic of organic semiconductors and were notably absent in the first reported demonstration of organic polariton lasing. In this work, we demonstrate the realization of an organic polariton condensate, at room temperature, in a microcavity containing a thin film of 2,7-bis[9,9-di(4-methylphenyl)-fluoren-2-yl]-9,9-di(4-methylphenyl)fluorene. On reaching threshold, we observe the spontaneous formation of a linearly polarized condensate, which exhibits a superlinear power dependence, long-range order and a power-dependent blueshift: a clear signature of Frenkel polariton interactions. Cavity polaritons have been extensively studied in inorganic materials. An organic polariton condensate is now demonstrated to occur in the strongly interacting regime, at room temperature, in a cavity containing an organic polymer.