Angular distribution of the spontaneous emission in a planar dielectric dye microcavity

The angular distribution of the radiation emitted from a dye molecular solution in a planar symmetrical microcavity terminated by two high-reflectivity dielectric mirrors has been investigated. A quantum-mechanical analysis of this process was applied to a microcavity terminated by mirrors bearing dielectric multilayered coatings, who optical parameters are calculated by means of the Lissberger-Wilcock algorithm. The experiment was performed for different polarizations of the pump beam and of the emitted radiation. The angular distribution of the spontaneous emission is strictly dependent on the behavior of the reflectivity and the phase of the mirrors relative to the angle of incidence. The restriction limits the microcavity confinement of relatively small values of the internal angle of emission. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.