Linear and non-linear behavior of cavity polaritons

We report on the linear and non-linear emission of cavity-polaritons under resonant excitation. At low excitation density, in addition to polariton photoluminescence, strong Rayleigh scattering is observed. At higher excitation densities, a sudden transition to a highly emissive state is observed, accompanied by spatial patterning. We attribute such phenomena to a combination of nonlinear cavity-polariton relaxation mechanism and nonlinear response of the cavity, leading to transverse pattern formation. A careful analysis of near- and far-field emission patterns with spatial filtering as well as reflectivity shows that an inhomogeneous situation develops, the center of the excited region undergoing a strong to weak coupling transition while the periphery is still in strong coupling. Despite the complex non-linear behavior we observe no signatures of Bose–Einstein condensation or Boser action.