Accurate calculation of the local density of optical states in inverse-opal photonic crystals

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed computational analysis of the local density of optical states in inverse-opal photonic crystals, crucial for understanding emission properties and strong coupling phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a quantitative method for calculating the LDOS in inverse-opal photonic crystals and offers reference results for experimental and theoretical studies.

Findings

LDOS strongly depends on lattice parameter

LDOS varies with emitter position and orientation

First quantitative analysis of frequency resolution and accuracy

Abstract

We have investigated the local density of optical states (LDOS) in titania and silicon inverse opals -- three-dimensional photonic crystals that have been realized experimentally. We used the H-field plane-wave expansion method to calculate the density of states and the projected local optical density of states, which are directly relevant for spontaneous emission dynamics and strong coupling. We present the first quantitative analysis of the frequency resolution and of the accuracy of the calculated local density of states. We have calculated the projected LDOS for many different emitter positions in inverse opals in order to supply a theoretical interpretation for recent emission experiments and as reference results for future experiments and theory by other workers. The results show that the LDOS in inverse opals strongly depends on the crystal lattice parameter as well as on the position and orientation of emitting dipoles.