Molecular strong coupling: an exploration employing open, half- and full planar cavities

We explore the modification of photoluminescence from dye-doped open, half and full optical microcavities. For each configuration, an analysis of the reflectivty data indicates the presence of strong coupling. We find that an open cavity, i.e. a dye-doped dielectric slab placed on a silicon substrate, shows little if any modification of the photoluminescence spectrum. For the half-cavity, in which a thin metallic film is placed between the dye-doped dielectric and the substrate, we find a limited degree of modification of the photoluminescence. For the fullcavity, for which the dielectric layer is bound both above and below by a metallic mirror, we f ind very significant modification to the photoluminescence emission, the photoluminescence clearly tracking the lower polariton. To learn more about the photo-physics we compare ref lectivity, absorption and photoluminescence dispersion data, making use where appropriate of numerical modelling. We discuss our results in the context of harnessing open cavities to modify molecular photo-physics through molecular strong coupling.