SPONTANEOUS-EMISSION COUPLING FROM MULTIEMITTERS TO THE QUASIMODE OF A FABRY-PEROT MICROCAVITY

Using a continuous basis set of optical modes, the spontaneous emissio n into the lowest-order resonant quasimode of a planar cavity is analy zed for the case of a laterally distributed multiemitter system. We sh ow that for a spatially distributed, randomly phased multiemitter syst em, the spontaneous rate into the lowest-order cavity quasimode contai ns a Purcell effect, increases with increasing mode quality factor Q, and saturates when the mode loss becomes less than the dipole dephasin g rate. Cooperative effects leading to superradiance for a properly ph ased multiemitter system are also considered, for which the change in the cavity-confined total spontaneous emission rate can be sizable.