A Highly Efficient Scheme of Redistribution of Optical Radiation Scattered by Spatial Gratings of Atomic Populations

Abstract

The radiation intensity redistribution of the probe field upon its scattering by spatially periodic atomic population gratings in a medium with a four-level tripod configuration of atomic states is investigated theoretically. Conditions are found under which a significant redistribution of the probe-wave field intensity occurs, and a “diffraction” pattern is formed with an efficient probe-field intensity transfer to the first-order maxima.