One- and two-dimensional Raman-induced diffraction gratings in atomic media

Abstract

We propose and analyze an efficient scheme for the one- and two-dimensional atomic gratings based on periodic spatial modulation of the Raman gain and dispersion, which we name the Raman-induced diffraction gratings (RIDGs). There are fundamentally different from those based on electromagnetically induced transparency. As the probe field propagates along the direction normal to the standing pump wave, it can be effectively diffracted into high-order directions. The grating is a hybrid grating, i.e. it represents a mixture of amplitude and phase gratings. We identify the conditions when all high-order diffractions are amplified. In addition, we also show that diffraction of a probe field could be dynamically controlled using an additional laser field. With its help, it is possible to suppress or amplify diffraction beams. The RIDGs can be considered as all-optical multibeam splitters with amplification.