Enhancement of nondegenerate four-wave mixing based on electromagnetically induced transparency in rubidium atoms

We report an experimental observation of the enhancement of nondegenerate four-wave mixing (NDFWM) based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a lambda-type three-level system of rubidium atoms. We measured both the linear susceptibility Im chi(1) over (D) (absorption) and the third-order nonlinear coefficient chi(3) over (D) separately for the NDFWM process at a low atomic density. We found that, owing to the EIT effect, the linear absorption term Im chi(1) over d(D) is greatly reduced, while the nonlinear generation term chi(3) over (D) is resonantly enhanced, permitting us to observe a significant enhancement of the NDFWM signal in an optically dense medium. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America.