Sol-gel based vertical optical microcavities with quantum dot defect layers

The interaction between CdSe-CdS-ZnS semiconductor quantum dot emitters (QDs) and sol–gel based asymmetric Bragg microcavities is studied. It is found that the quality factor (Q) of such microcavities is limited by interlayer diffusion. This results in maximum Q values of less than 100. Despite this, these structures still exhibit optical signatures characteristic of the Purcell effect, where large modifications to the photoluminescence properties of QDs are observed.