Quantum Optics Seminar by Martin Frimmer

Spontaneous emission control is at the heart of nanophotonics. Both rate and directionality of spontaneous emission of a fluorophore can be modified and controlled by positioning the emitter in a deliberately designed photonic environment. The quantity that governs spontaneous emission is the local density of optical states. We illustrate the local character of the density of optical states by investigating spontaneous emission in the vicinity of sub-wavelength metallic structures supporting plasmonic resonances. We furthermore unveil a counter-intuitive behavior of hybrid photonic systems composed of a small but strongly scattering nano-antenna embedded in a much larger photonic background system.