On the use of Purcell factors for plasmon antennas

The Purcell factor is the standard figure of merit for spontaneous emission enhancement in microcavities and has also been proposed to describe emission enhancements for plasmonic resonances. A comparison of quality factor, mode volume, and Purcell factor for single and coupled plasmon spheres to exact calculations of emission rates shows that a Purcell factor derived from quality factor and mode volume does not describe emission changes due to plasmon antennas. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America