A lossless negative dielectric constant from quantum dot exciton polaritons.

Abstract

Prospects for a lossless negative dielectric constant material for optical devices are studied. Simulations show that with sufficient gain, a mixture of two semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can produce an effective dielectric constant that is lossless and negative. This permits, in concept, arbitrarily small scaling of the optical mode volume, a major goal in the field of nanophotonics. The proposed implementation of a lossless negative dielectric constant material based on colloidal QDs opens a tractable path.