ROLE OF OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF METALLIC MIRRORS IN MICROCAVITY STRUCTURES

In thin metal films the phase change on reflection of incident light i s dependent on the wavelength, the angle of incidence, the type of met al, and the metal thickness. These properties have been exploited to i mprove the performance of planar metal mirror microcavities. We model substantial alteration of peak emission wavelength and linewidth with mirror thickness. This allows the tuning of the cavity resonance wavel ength by variation of metal mirror thickness. The dependence of the ph ase change on wavelength and angle of incidence can also be used to su ppress the angular dependence of the cavity resonance wavelength. Thes e effects are observed in silver-mirrored cavities containing the poly mers poly(p-phenylene vinylene), (PPV), and a cyano-substituted deriva tive of PPV, MEH-CN-PPV. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.