Photonic band gap effects on spontaneous emission lifetimes of an assembly of atoms in two-dimensional photonic crystals

The lifetime distribution functions of the spontaneous emission (SE) of the excited atoms embedded in two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals (PCs) with square lattice, consisting of square air rods in dielectric medium with different filling factors, are calculated by using the plane wave expansion method. The numerical results show that the SE in the 2D PCs cannot be prohibited completely but it can be inhibited intensively by the pseudo-PBG of the PCs. In the pseudoband edges, the SE is accelerated obviously. The reduced average lifetime of the excited atoms and the extension of the reduced lifetime distribution in the 2D PCs both are the same as those in the 3D PCs in the order of magnitude. Our results provide an available way to control the behavior of the SE by changing the structures of the 2D PCs.