Feasibility study for degenerate two-photon gain in a semiconductor microcavity

We analyze the magnitude of degenerate two-photon gain of several quantum wells (QWs) in a resonant microcavity which is pumped off-resonantly by an optical field. A set of coupled phenomenological rate equations for electron-hole pairs and photons is derived. In the framework of this model, we make a realistic prediction of the time-integrated two-photon gain and find that a (lambda)-cavity containing 11 QWs would give a maximal amplification of ~2.3% for a peak intensity of ~80 MW/cm/sup 2/. A better insight into the dependence of the gain on the various physical parameters is given by an analytical formula resulting from various approximations on the rate equations.