SPONTANEOUS LIFETIME IN A DIELECTRICALLY-APERTURED FABRY-PEROT MICROCAVITY

We present calculations of the modification of the spontaneous emissio n rate from a point source dipole in a Fabry-Perot microcavity contain ing an optically thin dielectric aperture. The dielectric aperture is described as a passive current source which is driven by the spontaneo us point source. The spontaneous emission rate is shown to depend on t he details of the aperture design, and shows a strong enhancement on r esonance due to 3-dimensional optical confinement by the dielectric ap erture. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.