  We propose a two-photon micromaser-based scheme for the generation of a
nonclassical state from a mixed state. We conclude that a faster, as well as a
higher degree of field purity is achieved in comparison to one-photon
processes. We investigate the statistical properties of the resulting field
states, for initial thermal and (phase-diffused) coherent states.
Quasiprobabilities are employed to characterize the state of the generated
fields.
