Modification of spontaneous emission rate of micrometer-sized light sources using hollow-core photonic crystal fibers

We investigate numerically and experimentally the modification of the spontaneous emission rate for micrometer-sized light sources embedded in a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HCPCF). The diameter of the light source is deliberately chosen such that they could be easily introduced into the central hole of the hollow-core photonic crystal fiber by capillary force. The photoluminescence from the microparticles is measured by using an inverted microscope in combination with a spectrometer. The modification of the spontaneous emission rate is observed in a wavelength region where there is no band gap. The experimental observations are consistent with the simulation results obtained by the plane wave expansion and finite-difference time-domain techniques.