Anomalous Spontaneous Emission Time in a Microscopic Optical Cavity

Abstract

We have realized total electromagnetic mode confinement in a microscopic optical, Casimir-type, cavity and detected the resonant change of the molecular fluorescence time under short-pulse excitation due to a spontaneous-atomic-decay enhancement-inhibition process (Purcell effect). This corresponds to the first realization in optics of the resonant coupling of atoms with a single mode of the radiation field.

Inorganic Semiconductors for Light‐emitting Diodes

“…In the 1980s and 1990s, several resonant cavity structures have been realized with different types of optically active media. The active media included organic dyes [8,9], semiconductors [10,11], rare-earth atoms [12,13], and organic polymers [14,15]. In these publications, clear changes in spontaneous emission were demonstrated including changes in spectral, spatial, and temporal emission characteristics.…”

“…Equation 1.23 also shows that the width of the resonance has a profound influence on the integrated enhancement. [8,9] Narrow resonance spectral widths, i. e. high finesse values or long cavities, reduce the integrated enhancement [18]. The relation between the overlap of the spontaneous emission spectrum and the cavity length is illustrated in Fig.…”

A scanning microcavity for in situ control of single-molecule emission

“…By approaching a microscopic mirror at the end of an optical fiber [10,11], we form a resonant microcavity that can be laterally scanned to couple to individual emitters in a controlled fashion [7]. This scheme is particularly attractive for work with organic dye molecules, which have been so far only studied in the near field of surfaces [12,13] or in parallel-plate cavities [12,14,15].…”

Modification of the Spontaneous Emission of Dye Molecules in Photonic Crystals

“…The phenomenon is a subject of extensive theoretical investigations (see, e.g., [4][5][6][7] and references therein). Experiments in this field include, but are not limited to, studies of modification of the spontaneous emission in the vicinity of a dielectric interface [8], in dielectric slabs [9][10][11][12][13], Fabri-Perot microcavities [14][15][16][17], semiconductor nanostructures [18,19], liquid microdroplets [20], water-in-oil micelles [21], phospholipid bilayers [22,23], and cell membranes [24].…”