Zero-dimensional organic exciton-polaritons in tunable coupled Gaussian defect microcavities at room temperature

We demonstrate strong light-matter interaction at ambient conditions between a ladder-type conjugated polymer and the individual modes of a vertical microcavity with tunable resonance frequencies. Zero-dimensional wavelength-scale confinement for the polaritons is achieved through a sub-micron sized Gaussian defect, resulting in a vacuum Rabi splitting of the polariton branches of 2g = 166 meV. By placing a second Gaussian defect nearby, we create a polaritonic molecule with tunnel coupling strength of up to 2J ~ 50 meV. This platform enables the creation of tailor-made potential landscapes with wavelength-scale dimensions and tunable coupling strengths beyond the thermal energy, opening a route towards room-temperature polariton-based quantum simulators.