Fast and bright spontaneous emission of Er(3+) ions in metallic nanocavity

By confining light in a small cavity, the spontaneous emission rate of an emitter can be controlled via the Purcell effect. However, while Purcell factors as large as ∼10,000 have been predicted, actual reported values were in the range of about 10-30 only, leaving a huge gap between theory and experiment. Here we report on enhanced 1.54-μm emission from Er(3+) ions placed in a very small metallic cavity. Using a cavity designed to enhance the overall Purcell effect instead of a particular component, and by systematically investigating its photonic properties, we demonstrate an unambiguous Purcell factor that is as high as 170 at room temperature. We also observe >90 times increase in the far-field radiant flux, indicating that as much as 55% of electromagnetic energy that was initially supplied to Er(3+) ions in the cavity escape safely into the free space in just one to two optical cycles.