Phase-dependent double-Λ electromagnetically induced transparency

Abstract: We theoretically investigate a double-{\Lambda} electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system. The property of the double-{\Lambda} medium with a closed-loop configuration depends on the relative phase of the applied laser fields. This phase-dependent mechanism differentiates the double-{\Lambda} medium from the conventional Kerr-based nonlinear medium, e.g., EIT-based nonlinear medium discussed by Harris and Hau [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4611 (1999)], which depends only on the intensities of the applied laser fields. Steady-state analytical solutions for the phase-dependent system are obtained by solving the Maxwell-Bloch equations. In addition, we discuss efficient all-optical phase modulation and coherent light amplification based on the proposed double-{\Lambda} EIT scheme.