Room temperature enhancement and inhibition of spontaneous emission in semiconductor microcavities

Abstract

We have fabricated planar semiconductor microcavities with metallic mirrors in which we have observed both enhancement and inhibition of spontaneous emission, at room temperature. Our results are quantitatively accounted for by modeling the band-to-band emission as arising from point dipoles. Observation of these cavity quantum electrodynamics effects in room temperature semiconductor structures opens the way to optoelectronic devices with controlled spontaneous emission.