Purcell effect in wire metamaterials

Abstract

We study theoretically the enhancement of spontaneous emission in wire metamaterials. We analyze the dependence of the Purcell factor on the wire dielectric constant for both electric and magnetic dipole sources and find an optimal value of the dielectric constant for maximizing the Purcell factor for the electric dipole. We obtain analytical expressions for the Purcell factor and also provide estimates for the Purcell factor in realistic structures operating in both microwave and optical spectral ranges.