Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Express

Modification of spontaneous emission in Bragg onion resonators

Wei Ge Liang, Yanyi Huang, Amnon Yariv, Yong Xu, Shawn-Yu Lin

Published Jan 1, 2006• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We formulated an analytical model and analyzed the modification of spontaneous emission in Bragg onion resonators. We consider both the case of a single light emitter and a uniformly distributed ensemble of light emitters within the resonator. We obtain an expression for the average radiation rate of the light emitters ensemble and discuss the modification of the average radiation rate as a function of cavity parameters such as the core radius, the number of Bragg cladding layers, the index contrast of the Bragg cladding, and the refractive index of surrounding medium. We also consider the possibility of non-exponential decay of the light emitter ensemble due to the strong dependence of spontaneous emission on the location and polarization of individual light emitter. We conclude that Bragg onion resonators can both enhance and inhibit spontaneous emission by several orders of magnitude. This property can have significant impact in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED).

DOI
10.1364/oe.14.007398

Related papers

Switching spontaneous emission in microcavities in the time domain

Henri Thyrrestrup, Alex Hartsuiker, Jean‐Michel Gérard +1 more

Impressive progress has been achieved in controlling the spontaneous emission rate for emitters in Nanophotonic structures, such as microcavities, photonic crystals and nano-antennas. In all cases, however, the modification of the emission is stationary in time. Thus, the emission rate is time-independent and the distribution of photon emission times are stochastic and follow an exponential distribution in the weak coupling regime. In this paper, by using fast all-optical switching of a microcavity, the cavity resonance is tuned within tens of picosesonds. This drastically changes the local optical density of states at the emission frequency within the emission lifetime of the emitters. This paper theoretically studied an ensemble of two-level sources with a time dependent decay rate and have derived the excited state population and emitted intensity as a function of time for continuous wave and pulsed excitation. Deterministic bursts of dramatically enhanced or inhibited emission intensity within short intervals. Thereby, we control the photon distribution to show behavior that strongly deviates from single exponential decay. This can be used to protect quantum information systems against decoherence and to realize non-Markovian dynamics in cavity quantum electrodynamics.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•May 1, 2013•0 citations

Spontaneous emission in nanoscopic dielectric media

Hannes C. Schniepp, H.-M. Ludwig, T. Kalkbrenner +1 more

Summary form only given. Over the last three decades of the 20 th century many experiments have demonstrated that the rate of spontaneous emission for an emitter is determined by its electromagnetic surrounding. This phenomenon has been usually studied for atoms or molecules placed in the vicinity of mirrors or in optical resonators. Furthermore, it is also well-known that the fluorescence lifetime of an emitter changes after being embedded in dielectric media where aside from a change in the refractive index, it experiences the local fields in the dielectric. For a spherical medium larger than the order of a wavelength it is known that the coupling to Mie modes of this dielectric resonator has a large influence on the emission rate of an emitter inside. However, when the medium becomes comparable or smaller than a wavelength one can no longer speak of resonator modes. Here we report on an experiment where we have studied the variation of the spontaneous emission rate as the dielectric medium surrounding an emitter is made smaller and smaller down to a few nanometers.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Aug 29, 2005•0 citations

Electric Field-Induced Enhancement and Inhibition of Excitonic Spontaneous Emission in GaAs Quantum Wells Embedded in Quantum Micro-Cavities,

N. Ochi, Y. Honda, M. Yamanishi +2 more

Abstract : Spontaneous emission of an atom is not an immutable property of an atom but can be controlled by modification of the vacuum field fluctuations surrounding the atom. In fact, inhibition and enhancement of spontaneous emission of atoms both at microwave and optical frequencies have been demonstrated experimentally. It has, also, been demonstrated that spontaneous emission from GaAs quantum wells (QWs) is altered by embedding the QWs between AlAs/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). Such an artificial modification of the spontaneous emission in semiconductor micro-structures is very important, particularly from device use point of view. We may, also expect enhancement and inhibition of spontaneous emission induced by tuning of emission wavelength of atoms or active materials embedded in fixed micro-cavities, instead of variation of micro-cavity structures. In this paper, we demonstrate, for the first time, controllable enhancement and inhibition of excitonic spontaneous emission by dc electric fields applied to a GaAs QW embedded in a pair of AlAs/AlGaAs DBRs.

•May 22, 1992•1 citation

Spontaneous Emission in Dielectric Planar Microcavities

Gunnar G. Bjork, Y. Yamamoto

In this chapter, the author calculates the modification of the spontaneous emission pattems and the corresponding rate change using classical physics. To derive the spontaneous emission pattems or rates the readers must average the emission rate at each frequency over this distribution function. It is important to understand that this assumption is only valid if the emission line is homogeneously broadened (albeit not necessarily at its natural linewidth limit due to the radiative decay). One more thing needs to be pointed out before the readers move on to a more exact calculation of the spontaneous emission pattern and the emission rate of a dielectric cavity. In the ideal mirror the reflection takes place at a well-defined plane. Integration of the emission over all solid angles and all wavelengths gives us information about the total spontaneous emission rate, or, equivalently, about the spontaneous emission lifetime of an emitter in a dielectric cavity.

CRC Press eBooks•Jul 9, 2020•4 citations

Non-exponential spontaneous emission dynamics for emitters in a time-dependent optical cavity

Henri Thyrrestrup, Alex Hartsuiker, Jean‐Michel Gérard +1 more

We have theoretically studied the effect of deterministic temporal control of spontaneous emission in a dynamic optical microcavity. We propose a new paradigm in light emission: we envision an ensemble of two-level emitters in an environment where the local density of optical states is modified on a time scale shorter than the decay time. A rate equation model is developed for the excited state population of two-level emitters in a time-dependent environment in the weak coupling regime in quantum electrodynamics. As a realistic experimental system, we consider emitters in a semiconductor microcavity that is switched by free-carrier excitation. We demonstrate that a short temporal increase of the radiative decay rate depletes the excited state and drastically increases the emission intensity during the switch time. The resulting time-dependent spontaneous emission shows a distribution of photon arrival times that strongly deviates from the usual exponential decay: A deterministic burst of photons is spontaneously emitted during the switch event.

arXiv:1301.7612•Optics Express•Sep 24, 2013•25 citations

An Erbium-Doped 1-D Fiber-Bragg Grating and Its Effect Upon Er3+ Radiative Spontaneous Emission

B. Boggs

Spontaneous atomic emission is not a process of the isolated atom but rather a cooperative effect of the atom and the vacuum field. It is now well established that spontaneous radiative decay rates can be enhanced or suppressed through the effect of cavities comprising various types of discrete, reflective-mirror type, boundaries. The cavity effect is generally understood in terms of a cavity-induced modification of the vacuum spectral energy density. Recently, interest has grown in the possibility that systems characterized by distributed periodic boundary conditions, such as a spatially varying index of refraction, might be effective in controlling radiative atomic processes.\n\nA semi-classical theory is given that enables an estimate of the size of the lifetime modification of a two-level radiator contained within a three-dimensionally incomplete photonic bandgap structure called a fiber-Bragg grating. Following this is an exploration of a specific system and its effect upon radiative spontaneous emission. It is found through fluorescence line narrowing and frequency hole burning measurements that the observation of lifetime modification of the specific system is complicated due to intra and inter Stark energy migration. A lifetime modification measurement then shows that no change in lifetime is observed beyond the error bars on the measurement results.\n\nThe tuning and coherence properties of a short-external-cavity diode laser that may be useful for future time-dependent spectroscopic measurements are examined using a fiber-based, self-heterodyne technique. Coherence properties during active frequency scans are characterized through analysis of time-dependent heterodyne beat signals at the output of a fiber interferometer.

•Jul 11, 2013•0 citations
We formulated an analytical model and analyzed the modification of spontaneous emission in Bragg onion resonators. We consider both the case of a single light emitter and a uniformly distributed ensemble of light emitters within the resonator. We obtain an expression for the average radiation rate of the light emitters ensemble and discuss the modification of the average radiation rate as a function of cavity parameters such as the core radius, the number of Bragg cladding layers, the index contrast of the Bragg cladding, and the refractive index of surrounding medium. We also consider the possibility of non-exponential decay of the light emitter ensemble due to the strong dependence of spontaneous emission on the location and polarization of individual light emitter. We conclude that Bragg onion resonators can both enhance and inhibit spontaneous emission by several orders of magnitude. This property can have significant impact in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED).
Impressive progress has been achieved in controlling the spontaneous emission rate for emitters in Nanophotonic structures, such as microcavities, photonic crystals and nano-antennas. In all cases, however, the modification of the emission is stationary in time. Thus, the emission rate is time-independent and the distribution of photon emission times are stochastic and follow an exponential distribution in the weak coupling regime. In this paper, by using fast all-optical switching of a microcavity, the cavity resonance is tuned within tens of picosesonds. This drastically changes the local optical density of states at the emission frequency within the emission lifetime of the emitters. This paper theoretically studied an ensemble of two-level sources with a time dependent decay rate and have derived the excited state population and emitted intensity as a function of time for continuous wave and pulsed excitation. Deterministic bursts of dramatically enhanced or inhibited emission intensity within short intervals. Thereby, we control the photon distribution to show behavior that strongly deviates from single exponential decay. This can be used to protect quantum information systems against decoherence and to realize non-Markovian dynamics in cavity quantum electrodynamics.
Summary form only given. Over the last three decades of the 20 th century many experiments have demonstrated that the rate of spontaneous emission for an emitter is determined by its electromagnetic surrounding. This phenomenon has been usually studied for atoms or molecules placed in the vicinity of mirrors or in optical resonators. Furthermore, it is also well-known that the fluorescence lifetime of an emitter changes after being embedded in dielectric media where aside from a change in the refractive index, it experiences the local fields in the dielectric. For a spherical medium larger than the order of a wavelength it is known that the coupling to Mie modes of this dielectric resonator has a large influence on the emission rate of an emitter inside. However, when the medium becomes comparable or smaller than a wavelength one can no longer speak of resonator modes. Here we report on an experiment where we have studied the variation of the spontaneous emission rate as the dielectric medium surrounding an emitter is made smaller and smaller down to a few nanometers.
Abstract : Spontaneous emission of an atom is not an immutable property of an atom but can be controlled by modification of the vacuum field fluctuations surrounding the atom. In fact, inhibition and enhancement of spontaneous emission of atoms both at microwave and optical frequencies have been demonstrated experimentally. It has, also, been demonstrated that spontaneous emission from GaAs quantum wells (QWs) is altered by embedding the QWs between AlAs/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). Such an artificial modification of the spontaneous emission in semiconductor micro-structures is very important, particularly from device use point of view. We may, also expect enhancement and inhibition of spontaneous emission induced by tuning of emission wavelength of atoms or active materials embedded in fixed micro-cavities, instead of variation of micro-cavity structures. In this paper, we demonstrate, for the first time, controllable enhancement and inhibition of excitonic spontaneous emission by dc electric fields applied to a GaAs QW embedded in a pair of AlAs/AlGaAs DBRs.
In this chapter, the author calculates the modification of the spontaneous emission pattems and the corresponding rate change using classical physics. To derive the spontaneous emission pattems or rates the readers must average the emission rate at each frequency over this distribution function. It is important to understand that this assumption is only valid if the emission line is homogeneously broadened (albeit not necessarily at its natural linewidth limit due to the radiative decay). One more thing needs to be pointed out before the readers move on to a more exact calculation of the spontaneous emission pattern and the emission rate of a dielectric cavity. In the ideal mirror the reflection takes place at a well-defined plane. Integration of the emission over all solid angles and all wavelengths gives us information about the total spontaneous emission rate, or, equivalently, about the spontaneous emission lifetime of an emitter in a dielectric cavity.
We have theoretically studied the effect of deterministic temporal control of spontaneous emission in a dynamic optical microcavity. We propose a new paradigm in light emission: we envision an ensemble of two-level emitters in an environment where the local density of optical states is modified on a time scale shorter than the decay time. A rate equation model is developed for the excited state population of two-level emitters in a time-dependent environment in the weak coupling regime in quantum electrodynamics. As a realistic experimental system, we consider emitters in a semiconductor microcavity that is switched by free-carrier excitation. We demonstrate that a short temporal increase of the radiative decay rate depletes the excited state and drastically increases the emission intensity during the switch time. The resulting time-dependent spontaneous emission shows a distribution of photon arrival times that strongly deviates from the usual exponential decay: A deterministic burst of photons is spontaneously emitted during the switch event.
Spontaneous atomic emission is not a process of the isolated atom but rather a cooperative effect of the atom and the vacuum field. It is now well established that spontaneous radiative decay rates can be enhanced or suppressed through the effect of cavities comprising various types of discrete, reflective-mirror type, boundaries. The cavity effect is generally understood in terms of a cavity-induced modification of the vacuum spectral energy density. Recently, interest has grown in the possibility that systems characterized by distributed periodic boundary conditions, such as a spatially varying index of refraction, might be effective in controlling radiative atomic processes.\n\nA semi-classical theory is given that enables an estimate of the size of the lifetime modification of a two-level radiator contained within a three-dimensionally incomplete photonic bandgap structure called a fiber-Bragg grating. Following this is an exploration of a specific system and its effect upon radiative spontaneous emission. It is found through fluorescence line narrowing and frequency hole burning measurements that the observation of lifetime modification of the specific system is complicated due to intra and inter Stark energy migration. A lifetime modification measurement then shows that no change in lifetime is observed beyond the error bars on the measurement results.\n\nThe tuning and coherence properties of a short-external-cavity diode laser that may be useful for future time-dependent spectroscopic measurements are examined using a fiber-based, self-heterodyne technique. Coherence properties during active frequency scans are characterized through analysis of time-dependent heterodyne beat signals at the output of a fiber interferometer.