Vacuum Rabi Splitting of Exciton–Polariton Emission in an AlN Film

The vacuum Rabi splitting of exciton–polariton emission is observed in cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence spectra of an AlN epitaxial film. Atomic force microscopy and CL measurements show that the film has an atomically flat surface, high purity, and high crystal quality. By changing the temperature, anticrossing behavior between the upper and lower polariton branch can be obtained in low temperature with a Rabi splitting of 44 meV, in agreement with the calculation. This large energy splitting is caused by strong oscillator strength, intrinsically pure polarization in wurtzite AlN semiconductor, and high fraction of free exciton in the sample. These properties indicate that AlN can be a potential semiconductor for the further development of polariton physics and polariton–based novel devices.