Enhanced diffraction of light in GaAs microcavities

We theoretically analyze the diffraction of light by gratings that are photogenerated in Fabry–Perot microcavities. The coupled-wave theory of volume gratings is combined with appropriate boundary conditions to yield expressions for the diffraction efficiency. Multiple round trips within the cavity are seen to increase the effective grating thickness and therefore the efficiency. Numerical calculations specific to GaAs microcavities show that the diffraction efficiency can be enhanced by more than 2 orders of magnitude at the resonant wavelengths.