Enhancement of spontaneous recombination rate in a quantum well by resonant surface plasmon coupling

Using time-resolved photoluminescence measurements, the recombination rate in an In$_{0.18}$Ga$_{0.82}$N/GaN quantum well (QW) is shown to be greatly enhanced when spontaneous emission is resonantly coupled to a silver surface plasmon. The rate of enhanced spontaneous emission into the surface plasmon was as much as 92 times faster than normal QW spontaneous emission. A calculation, based on Fermi's golden rule, reveals the enhancement is very sensitive to silver thickness and indicates even greater enhancements are possible for QWs placed closer to the surface metal coating.