Finite-difference time-domain calculation of the spontaneous emission coupling factor in optical microcavities

We present a general method for the /spl beta/ factor calculation in optical microcavities. The analysis is based on the classical model for atomic transitions in a semiconductor active medium. The finite-difference time-domain method is used to evolve the electromagnetic fields of the system and calculate the total radiated energy, as well as the energy radiated into the mode of interest. We analyze the microdisk laser and compare our result with the previous theoretical and experimental analyses. We also calculate the /spl beta/ factor of the microcavity based on a two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystal in an optically thin dielectric slab. From the /spl beta/ calculations, we are able to estimate the coupling to radiation modes in both the microdisk and the 2-D photonic crystal cavity, thereby showing the effectiveness of the photonic crystal in suppressing in-plane radiation modes.