Steering, Splitting and Cloning of Optical Beam in a Coherently Driven Raman Gain System

TL;DR

This paper introduces an all-optical method using a spatially inhomogeneous pump beam in a Raman gain medium to steer, split, and clone optical beams beyond the diffraction limit, with control over image quality.

Contribution

It presents a novel anti-waveguide mechanism for beam manipulation in a Raman system, enabling diffractionless propagation and improved image cloning through control fields.

Findings

Achieved beam steering, splitting, and cloning beyond diffraction limit.

Demonstrated control of cloned image finesse via detuning and intensity adjustments.

Showed diffractionless propagation using an additional control field.

Abstract

We propose an all-optical anti-waveguide mechanism for steering, splitting, and cloning of an optical beam beyond the diffraction-limit. We use a spatially inhomogeneous pump beam to create an anti-waveguide structure in a Doppler broadened N -type four-level Raman gain medium for a co-propagating weak probe beam. We show that a transverse modulated index of refraction and gain due to the spatially dependent pump beam hold the keys to steering, splitting and cloning of an optical beam. We have also shown that an additional control field permits the propagation of an optical beam through an otherwise gain medium without diffraction and instability. We further discuss how finesse of the cloned images can be increased by changing the detuning and intensity of the control field.