Tunable optical vortex array in a two-dimensiona electromagnetically induced atomic lattice

Optical vortex arrays (OVAs) containing multiple vortices have been in demand for multi-channel optical communications and multiple-particle trapping. In this Letter, an OVA with tunable intensity and spatial distribution was implemented all-optically in a two-dimensional (2D) electromagnetically induced atomic lattice (EIL). Such a square lattice is constructed by two orthogonal standing-wave fields in Rb-85 vapor, resulting in the periodically modulated susceptibility of the probe beam based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). An OVA with dark-hollow intensity distribution based on 2D EIL was observed in the experiment first. This work thus studied the nonlinear 2D EIL process both theoretically and experimentally, presenting, to the best of our knowledge, a novel method of dynamically obtaining and controlling an OVA and further promoting the construction of all-optical networks with atomic ensembles. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America

Automated summary

This study implemented an optical vortex array (OVA) with tunable intensity and spatial distribution all-optically in a two-dimensional electromagnetically induced atomic lattice (EIL). The square lattice was constructed by two orthogonal standing-wave fields in Rb-85 vapor, resulting in periodically modulated susceptibility and observed an OVA with dark-hollow intensity distribution based on 2D EIL in the experiment.