Spontaneous Emission of Organic Molecules Embedded in a Photonic Crystal

We report on modification of the spontaneous emission of dye molecules embedded in a threedimensional 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. [S0031-9007(98)06494-1] PACS numbers: 42.50. ‐ p