Finite-difference time-domain analysis of spontaneous emission in a microdisk cavity - art. no. 033808

Exploring the close analogy between classical electrodynamics and quantum e lectrodynamics, we have developed a general algorithm to calculate the spon taneous emission rate and the spontaneous emission factor in a microcavity of arbitrary geometry. Both the emission spectrum elf the light sourer and the decay of the electromagnetic modes are taken into account in our model. Assuming a Lorentzian line shape fur the emission spectrum, we apply our a lgorithm to calculate the spontaneous emission rate and the spontaneous emi ssion factor in a dielectric microdisk cavity. We find that the spontaneous emission characteristics in the microdisk are greatly modified by the whis pering gallery modes. The influence of the spectral linewidth of the light sourer on the spontaneous emission rate and the spontaneous emission factor is also discussed.