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Contemporary Physics

Spontaneous emission and energy transfer in the optical microcavity

William L. Barnes

Published Sep 1, 2000• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Optical microcavities allow control over the interaction between light and matter, thus making them an important testing ground for basic optical physics. This review focuses on two of these interactions, spontaneous emission and energy transfer. Emphasis is placed on the underlying concepts, which are presented in the context of recent developments. Practical application of the microcavity concept to devices is now well underway and a discussion of these aspects forms an integral part of the review. This field is far from mature and though much has been accomplished, many questions in this area remain, some of which are identified and discussed.

DOI
10.1080/001075100750012786

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arXiv:quant-ph/0408025•Contemporary Physics•Jul 1, 2004•46 citations
Optical microcavities allow control over the interaction between light and matter, thus making them an important testing ground for basic optical physics. This review focuses on two of these interactions, spontaneous emission and energy transfer. Emphasis is placed on the underlying concepts, which are presented in the context of recent developments. Practical application of the microcavity concept to devices is now well underway and a discussion of these aspects forms an integral part of the review. This field is far from mature and though much has been accomplished, many questions in this area remain, some of which are identified and discussed.
Optical microcavities are resonators that have at least one dimension on the order of a single optical wavelength. These structures enable one to control the optical emission properties of materials placed inside them. They can, for example, modify the spatial distribution of radiation power, change the spectral width of the emitted light, and enhance or suppress the spontaneous emission rate. In addition to being attractive for studying the fundamental physics of the interaction between materials and vacuum field fluctuations, optical microcavities hold technological promise for constructing novel kinds of light-emitting devices. One of their most dramatic potential features is thresholdless lasing. In this way and others, controlled spontaneous emission is expected to play a key role in a new generation of optical devices.
Optical mimcavities are resonators that have at least one dimension on the order of a single optical wavelength. These structures enable one to control the optical emission properties of materials placed inside them. They can for example, modify the spatial distribution of radiation power, change the spectral width of the emimd light, and enhance or suppress the spontaneous emission rate [l]. In addition to being attractve for studying the fundamental physics of the interaction between luminescent atoms and vacuum field, optical mimavities hold technological promise for constructing nove1 kinds of light emitting devices.
Abstract When interaction between light and matter is in the strong coupling region, matter has a significant influence on the whole system, with potential to develop low‐power active optical devices. Strong coupling can verify some basic problems of quantum physics, and it is an ideal system to study light–matter interaction, providing an intuitive and accurate demonstration of some pure quantum effects with small mass and easy optical control. Here, the most important advances in strong coupling in recent years are described. Of late, an extensive series of experimental and theoretical findings, and remarkable achievements have been made in this field. Strong coupling between cavities and some new materials such as semiconductors, two‐dimensional (2D) material, and quantum dots (QDs) are the focus of research in this field. Another field that has made outstanding progress is the application of this optical phenomenon, including resonance‐enhanced Raman and infrared spectra, nanolasers, and cavity‐enhanced sensing. Furthermore, the potential in this field arises for future quantum information and quantum optical devices. It is now developing at a very fast rate and can be predicted to have broad prospects for development in the future. Some prospects in terms of design and application are included.
Devices based on the optical microcavities which confne light to small volumes by resonant recirculation are already indispensable for a wide range of studies and applications. This article provides an overview of the development and application of optical microcavities. We frst give a pedagogical introduction to the interaction between a two-level system and a quantized electromagnetic feld in the cavity, based on the so-called Jaynes-Cummings model, which is basic and important theory model in the cavity quantum electrodynamics,and various quantum phenomena and applications of it. Then, we overview three basic types of the microcavity structures, and also highlight the progress achieved so far in these systems. Based on these three structures,we give an account of three representative applications of optical microcavities, and explain their microcavity requirements and the state of the art for these devices, before outlining the challenges for the future.
In the first part of this introductory review we outline the developments in photonic band gap materials from the physics of photonic band gap formation to the fabrication and potential applications of photonic crystals. We briefly describe the analogies between electron and photon localization, present a simple model of a band structure calculation and describe some of the techniques used for fabricating photonic crystals. Also some applications in the field of photonics and optical circuitry are briefly presented. In the second part, we discuss the consequences for the interaction between an atom and the light field when the former is embedded in photonic crystals of a specific type, exhibiting a specific form of a gap in the density of states. We first briefly review the standard treatment (Weisskopf – Wigner theory) in describing the dynamics of spontaneous emission in free space from first principles, and then proceed by explaining the alterations needed to properly treat the case of a two-level atom embedded in a photonic band gap material.