Spontaneous emission of organic molecules embedded in a photonic crystal

We report on modification of the spontaneous emission of dye molecules embedded in a three-dimensional solid-state photonic crystal exhibiting a stop band in the visible range. Molecules embedded in artificial opal filled with a polymer show a dip in the fluorescence spectrum and nonexponential spontaneous decay kinetics containing both accelerated and inhibited components compared to the dye fluorescence in a reference polymer matrix. Results are interpreted in terms of redistribution of the photon density of states in the photonic crystal.