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CRC Press eBooks

Spontaneous Emission in Dielectric Planar Microcavities

Gunnar G. Bjork, Y. Yamamoto

Published Jul 9, 2020• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

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.

DOI
10.1201/9780138738938-6

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Modal analysis of spontaneous emission in a planar microcavity

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A complete set of cavity modes in planar dielectric microcavities is presented which naturally includes guided modes. We show that most of these orthonormal fields can be derived from a coherent superposition of plane waves incoming on the stack from the air and from the substrate. Spontaneous emission of a dipole located inside the microcavity is analyzed, in terms of cavity modes. Derivation of the radiation pattern in the air and in the substrate is presented. The power emitted into the guided modes is also determined. Finally, a numerical analysis of the radiative properties of an erbium atom located in a Fabry-P\'erot multilayer dielectric microcavity is investigated. We show that a large amount of light is emitted into the guided modes of the structure, in spite of the Fabry-P\'erot resonance, which increases the spontaneous emission rate in a normal direction. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Physical Review A•Sep 1, 1996•91 citations
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.
Starting from a quantum Maxwell equation for the vector potential operator, we study the spontaneous emission properties of a two-level atom interacting with the electromagnetic field in a lossless and inhomogeneous dielectric structure and express the spontaneous emission rate, the external quantum efficiency, and the spontaneous emission factor in terms of the classical Green function of the dielectric structure. Comparing these results with the corresponding classical results, we show that the above quantities can be calculated from the radiation field of a classical dipole. Based on this correspondence, a numerical algorithm is developed to calculate the modification of spontaneous emission in microcavities. The line shape of the emission spectrum of the light source and the decay of the cavity resonant modes are automatically taken into account in this algorithm. The approximate expressions for the spontaneous emission rate and the spontaneous emission factor are discussed.
The spontaneous-emission rates of emitters embedded in a thin layer 0 of a loss-free dielectric depend on their optical environment, i.e., on the optical properties of the two media 1 and 2 adjoining layer 0. For electric- and magnetic-dipole transitions the spontaneous-emission rates, normalized with respect to those in an infinite medium 0, are expressed in terms of the Fresnel reflection coefficients for plane and evanescent waves incident from medium 0 on the interfaces to the planar-stratified or homogeneous media 1 and 2, respectively. From this result which is valid for arbitrary layer thicknesses d0{d}_{0}d0​ we derive an approximation for extremely thin layers of optical thickness ${n}_{0}{d}_{0}\ensuremath{\ll}\frac{\ensuremath{\lambda}}{8}$ (where $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is the emission wavelength) between two homogeneous loss-free dielectric media 1 and 2. For the normalized spontaneous-emission rates as functions of the refractive indices nj{n}_{j}nj​ of media j=0,1,and2j=0, 1, \mathrm{and} 2j=0,1,and2 analytical expressions are obtained. We have used these expressions previously without proof [Phys. Rev. B 21, 4814 (1980)] to analyze experimentally observed changes in the fluorescence lifetime of Eu3+{\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}Eu3+ ions in varying optical environments, which yielded the quantum efficiency of the emitting state.
The decay rate of an excited molecule (atom) embedded in a dispersive and absorbing planar cavity is derived by using a recently obtained compact form of the Green's function for a multilayer. As a by-product, a hint is provided for a straightforward extension of the results obtained for lossless cavities of other shapes to the corresponding absorbing cavities. The decay rate in an absorbing cavity consists of the spontaneous emission rate and of the nonradiative rates caused by the near-field interaction of the molecule with the cavity medium and, for nearby molecules, with the cavity mirrors. Only the spontaneous emission rate is satisfactorily described in the macroscopic approach adopted. The theory is applied to an analysis of the effects of the weak cavity absorption on the decay rate in a dielectric microcavity formed by two metallic mirrors. As expected, dissipation in the cavity medium spoils the conditions for controlled spontaneuos emission and strongly suppresses the intensity of spontaneous emission. However, its effect on the spontaneous emission rate is much less pronounced.
The spontaneous emission lifetime of an atom is known to be influenced by its environment. In general, the lifetime will be different if the atom is suspended in free space than if it is placed inside a cavity. A simple cavity geometry in which to explore this effect is the planar cavity. In a paper by Brorson, Yokoyama, and Ippen, the authors derived the minimum lifetime in a planar cavity to be one-third of the free space (no cavity) lifetime, and the appropriate mirror spacing was found to be one-half wavelength. In a paper by Yamamoto, Machida, and Bjork, it was concluded that the lifetime for a half-wavelength-long cavity was only two-thirds of the free space lifetime. In this paper, the discrepancy between these results is clarified and it is shown that the shortest lifetime is indeed one-third of the free space lifetime; but to achieve this, the cavity has to be slightly longer than one-half wavelength. This will influence the emission mode pattern in a way that, in general, is undesirable for a surface emitting laser. It is also shown that a strictly half-wavelength-long cavity has a lifetime of two-thirds of the free space lifetime. The model employed has the attractive feature that if allows a smooth transition from a fully open system with the atom interacting with a mode continuum, to the fully closed system with quantized photon modes.>
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.
A complete set of cavity modes in planar dielectric microcavities is presented which naturally includes guided modes. We show that most of these orthonormal fields can be derived from a coherent superposition of plane waves incoming on the stack from the air and from the substrate. Spontaneous emission of a dipole located inside the microcavity is analyzed, in terms of cavity modes. Derivation of the radiation pattern in the air and in the substrate is presented. The power emitted into the guided modes is also determined. Finally, a numerical analysis of the radiative properties of an erbium atom located in a Fabry-P\'erot multilayer dielectric microcavity is investigated. We show that a large amount of light is emitted into the guided modes of the structure, in spite of the Fabry-P\'erot resonance, which increases the spontaneous emission rate in a normal direction. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.