Lasing and polariton condensation: Two distinct transitions in GaAs microcavities with stress traps

We have used stress to create a harmonic potential for polaritons in GaAs microcavities and have previously reported that the polaritons undergo spontaneous coherence in the trap. In this paper we present results for both trapped conditions and resonant, nontrapped conditions in the same sample. We find that the results are qualitatively different with two distinct types of transitions. At low density in the trap, the polaritons remain in the strong coupling regime while going through the threshold for onset of coherence; at higher density, there is a different threshold behavior, which occurs with weak coupling and can be identified with lasing; this transition occurs both with and without a trap. The transition at lower density can therefore be identified as a type of nonequilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3140822]