Abstract

The lasing threshold behavior of an optical microcavity has attracted much recent interest.^1–3 In a classical description based on the rate equations, the output-versus-pump power shows an indistinct threshold as the spontaneous-emission coupling constant β approaches unity. However, thresholds still exist in these systems as long as the classical description of the system is valid, that is, when the dephasing time between dipoles of the excited medium is much shorter than other relevant times.

© 1993 Optical Society of America