Plug-and-Play Molecular Approach for Room Temperature Polariton Condensation

Exciton-polaritons (EP), half-light half-matter quasiparticles that form in optical cavities, are attractive platforms for creating macroscopic coherent states such as Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC). EPs based on organic molecules are of particular interest for realizing such states at room temperature while offering the promise of synthetic tunability. However, the demonstrations of such condensates have been limited to a few specific molecular systems (Keeling et al. Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons in organic microcavities. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry 2020, 71, 435–459). Here we report a universal platform for realizing molecular polariton condensates using commercial dyes that solve long-standing material challenges. This solution is made possible using a new and programmable molecular material called small-molecule, ionic isolation lattices (SMILES) with the potential to incorporate a wide array of molecular fluorophores (Benson et al. Plug-and-Play Optical Materials from Fluorescent Dyes and Macrocycles. Chem 2020, 6, 1978–1997). We show EP condensation in rhodamine by incorporating it into a SMILES lattice placed in a planar microcavity. The SMILES approach overcomes the major drawbacks of organic molecular photophysical systems, such as self-quenching, which sets the foundation for realizing practical polaritonic devices operating at ambient temperatures covering a wide spectral range.