Microcavity vacuum-field configuration and the spontaneous emission power

The axial and lateral spontaneous emission intensities from vertical-cavity laser diodes have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. The measurements show that spontaneous emission from the cavity perimeter (lateral emission) is overwhelmingly larger than the same emanating along the lasing direction (axial emission). A model for lateral and axial spontaneous emission from microcavities is postulated based on one- and two-dimensional vacuum electromagnetic field confinement, respectively. A new cavity mode counting technique is developed and utilized to calculate the spontaneous emission initio. The resulting field configuration theory is in good agreement with the emission intensity measurements.<
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