文章基于Fabry—Perot半导体微腔,阐述了新型元激发——激子极化激元的基本概念和微观描述,讨论了其在光学放大器、光学开关和单光子源方面的潜在应用,概述了对其实现Bose-Einstein凝聚的实验研究,最后对将来的发展做了一个简单的展望.
Recent experimental and theoretical studies on the physics of semiconductor microcavities are reviewed. First, based on the Fabry-Perot microcavity, the basic concepts and microscopic descriptions of exciton polaritons are introduced; then the potential applications of semiconductor microcavities to optical amplifiers, optical switches and single-photon sources are discussed; afterwards, the experimental realization of Bose-Einstein condensation is surveyed; finally, prospects for future developments are briefly presented.