Adaptive wavefront control based on genetic algorithm for the enhancement of high-order harmonic generation driven by two-cycle laser pulses

In this work we report on the optimization of the conversion efficiency of the harmonic generation process, by adaptive control of the wavefront of sub-10-fs light pulses, obtained by using a deformable mirror and a genetic algorithm. Sub-10-fs, 0.2-mJ energy light pulses, generated by the hollow-fiber compression technique, were focused in the gas target (argon or neon) by a 250-mm focal-length mirror. Pulse wavefront correction has been achieved by using a deformable mirror (DM) controlled by 37 actuators distributed on a honeycomb pattern of 15 mm diameter. The harmonic radiation was observed by a soft-X-ray spectrometer, with double output: time-integrated high-resolution bidimensional focal-plane image and real-time (I kHz) intensity of a suitable spectral region. This latter signal was used as fitness parameter for the genetic algorithm; an initial population of DM configurations was initialized with random values of the actuator signals. A new generation of DM configurations is derived from ordering, selection and transformation of previous generation, up to the convergence to the fittest individual.