Strong coherent gain from semiconductor microcavities in the regime of excitonic saturation

We present femtosecond gain measurements in microcavity-embedded quantum wells. When the excitonic transition is saturated by an intense pump field, the spectrum measured with a weak probe pulse is strongly modulated by pump-probe wave mixing processes. A giant probe amplification occurs within the bandwidth of the empty-cavity mode. The optical feedback provided by the microcavity is responsible for a net gain of the broadband probe pulse. [S0163-1829(99)50424-4]