Coupling of spontaneous emission from GaN-AlN quantum dots into silver surface plasmons

We have demonstrated the decay of spontaneous emission (SE) from AlN-GaN quantum dots (QDs) into silver surface plasmon (SP) modes in the ultraviolet at approximately 375-380 nm. Using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL), we show that the electron-hole recombination rate in AlN-GaN QDs is enhanced when SE is resonantly coupled to a metal SP mode, corresponding to the dip in the continuous-wave PL spectrum. Exciton recombination by means of silver SP modes is as much as 3-7 times faster than in normal QD SE and depends strongly on emission wavelength and thickness of the silver. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.