X-ray Spontaneous Emission Control By 1D-PBG Structure

The control of the decay rate of an excited atom through the photonic mode density (PMD) was pointed out at radiofrequency by Purcell in 1946. Nowadays the development of sophisticated photonic band structures makes it possible to monitor the PMD at shorter radiation wavelengths and then to manipulate the spontaneous emission of atoms in the hard region of the electromagnetic spectrum especially in the visible domain. In this communication we study the possibility of monitoring the x-ray emission by means of one-dimensional photonic band structures such as periodic multilayer systems. Enhancement or inhibition of soft x-ray emissions seems now to be feasible by means of the state-of-the art in x-ray optics.