Abstract

Enhanced and inhibited spontaneous emission of materials in a wavelength size cavity¹ are attractive phenomena from the optical device point of view. For example, Yablonovitch² has proposed the utilization of a spontaneous emission lifetime increase in semiconductor lasers for extremely low current operation. On the other hand, Kobayashi et al.³ proposed the concept of thresholdless lasers with the full confinement of spontaneously emitted photons in closed optical microcavities. In the latter situation, a decrease rather than increase in spontaneous emission lifetime will take place. Rate equation analysis of single-mode closed microcavity lasers reveals some interesting features incorporated with enhanced spontaneous emission.⁴

© 1990 Optical Society of America