We consider the process of spontaneous emission of a two-level atom embedded into a periodic layered dielectric structure. When the resonant atomic frequency lies within the photon-density-of-states gap, of width Γ, the atom emits light during a time interval tΓ≪1 until the spontaneous emission becomes fully inhibited. We discuss the enhancing of spontaneous emission by tuning the atomic resonance with a one-mode microcavity. In the λ/4-shifted distributed feedback microcavities which possess the δ-function-like density of states, in the middle of the gap, the process of spontaneous emission has damped Rabi oscillation behavior; the damping depends on the width of the gap and the height of its walls. A profile of the density-of-states gap can be determined from the experimental data on the temporal behavior of the atomic spontaneous decay.

• Received 21 September 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.47.3380