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Modified spontaneous emission in nanophotonic structures

Nature Photonics volume 9, pages 427–435 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Spontaneous emission is not an inherent property of a luminescent material; rather, it arises due to interaction between the material and its local electromagnetic environment. Changing the environment can thus alter the emission rate, with potential applications in sensing, integrated photonics and solar energy conversion. Significant increases in emission rate require an optical resonator that stores light in as small a volume as possible, for as long as possible. This is currently achieved using two main systems: photonic crystal microcavities and plasmonic metal nanoparticles. These two systems have largely been developed independently, but the underlying physical mechanisms are the same. Comparing the two provides insight into emission modification and illustrates some of the subtleties involved in interpreting experimental results.

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Figure 1: Schematics for understanding modified emission due to metal nanostructures.
Figure 2: Examples of metal nanostructures used for emission modification.
Figure 3: Examples of photonic crystal structures used for emission modification.
Figure 4: Controlled measurements of emission enhancement.
Figure 5: Potential applications of emission enhancement.

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    Matthew Pelton

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Pelton, M. Modified spontaneous emission in nanophotonic structures. Nature Photon 9, 427–435 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2015.103

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