  Beam propagation beyond the paraxial approximation is studied in an optically
written waveguide structure. The waveguide structure that leads to
diffractionless light propagation, is imprinted on a medium consisting of a
five-level atomic vapor driven by an incoherent pump and two coherent spatially
dependent control and plane-wave fields. We first study propagation in a single
optically written waveguide, and find that the paraxial approximation does not
provide an accurate description of the probe propagation. We then employ
coherent control fields such that two parallel and one tilted Gaussian beams
produce a branched waveguide structure. The tilted beam allows selective
steering of the probe beam into different branches of the waveguide structure.
The transmission of the probe beam for a particular branch can be improved by
changing the width of the titled Gaussian control beam as well as the intensity
of the spatially dependent incoherent pump field.
