Spontaneous emission coupling to radiation and guided modes of planar waveguide structures

A general analysis of spontaneous emission in the vicinity of a symmetric slab dielectric waveguide is presented using explicit energy-normalized functions for the complete set of bound and radiating TE and TM modes. Expressions for the spontaneous emission rates are derived for each mode type, and calculated results are presented illustrating the emission behavior as a function of the position of the radiating atom, for various slab waveguides. The model is used to analyze the spontaneous emission coupling efficiency to guided modes in planar erbium-doped amplifier structures. Spontaneous emission factors for the TE and TM modes are calculated for the cases of erbium doping of the core and of the cladding.<
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