Two-dimensional electromagnetically induced cross-grating in a four-level tripod-type atomic system

By using two orthogonal coupling standing-wave fields, we propose a scheme for a two-dimensional electromagnetically induced cross-grating (EICG) in a four-level tripod-type atomic system. Based on the electromagnetically induced transparency, the probe field will be diffracted and form the two-dimensional EICG through the interaction of the two coupling standing-wave fields. It is shown that the first-order diffraction intensity of the two-dimensional EICG depends observably on the detuning of the probe field and the Rabi frequencies of the two coupling standing-wave fields. The results may be used to develop novel photonic devices for use in quantum information processing, quantum networking and optical imaging.