Phase control of group velocity in a dielectric slab doped with three-level ladder-type atoms

Propagation of an electromagnetic pulse through a dielectric slab doped with three-level ladder-type atomic systems is discussed. It is shown that the group velocity of the reflected and transmitted pulses can be switched from subluminal to superluminal light propagation by the thickness of the slab or the intensity of the coupling field. Furthermore, it is found that, in the presence of quantum interference, the reflected and transmitted pulses are completely phase dependent. So, the group velocity of the reflected and transmitted pulses can only be switched from subluminal to superluminal by adjusting the relative phase of the applied fields.