Inhibited and Enhanced Spontaneous Emission from Optically Thin AlGaAs/GaAs Double Heterostructures

Inhibited spontaneous emission in atomic physics has been intensively investigated recently. In solid-state physics these effects are no less important. We have studied the spontaneous emission of light from electron-hole recombination in optically thin GaAs double heterostructures. The electron-hole radiative recombination rate coefficient B is not purely a property of the GaAs itself, but depends strongly on the optical-mode density and refractive index of the medium in which it is immersed. The spontaneous-emission rate can be markedly increased or decreased depending on whether the surrounding refractive index is higher or lower than that of GaAs.