The effect of a squeezed vacuum on the optical bistable and multistable
behaviour of a system of N three-level atoms is
investigated, where the quantum interference between the atomic transition
paths is considered. It is shown that the squeezed vacuum can profoundly
affect the output field of this system. A strong squeezed vacuum can lead to
multistable behaviour, even in the case where the cooperation parameter
C is so small that the input–output
relationship curve is monotone in the absence of the squeezed vacuum. The
optical multistability is most significant when the quantum interference is
perfect. The bistability and multistability can be controlled by the squeezing
photon number and the strength of the two-photon correlation.