Spontaneous Emission in a Very Short Optical Cavity with Plane-Parallel Dielectric Mirrors

Abstract

A detailed account of the calculation on the spontaneous emission rate in a very short optical cavity with plane-parallel dielectric mirrors is given. A cavity model consisting of a pair of plane dielectric slabs is used. Guided modes as well as outgoing modes are considered. The emission rate from a two-level atom is calculated under quantum-mechanical perturbation approximation. The enhancement factor for the rate is found to be of the order of unity except for extremely short cavities. The concept of quasimodes in a very short cavity and their effective area are discussed in relation to the enhancement factor. The coupling ratios into various quasimodes are derived.