Abstract-Enhancement of THz generation by feedback-optimized wavefront manipulation

J. Hah, W. Jiang, Z-H. He, J. A. Nees, B. Hou, A. G. R. Thomas, and K. Krushelnick

https://www.osapublishing.org/oe/abstract.cfm?uri=oe-25-15-17271&origin=search

We apply active feedback optimization methods to pyroelectric measurements of a THz signal generated by four wave mixing in air using 1 mJ to 12 mJ, 35 fs laser pulses operating at 12/ kHz$\raisebox{1ex}{$1$}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$2$}\right.\hspace{0.17em}\text{kHz}$repetition rate. A genetic algorithm, using the THz signal as a figure of merit, determines the voltage settings to a deformable mirror and results in up to a 6 fold improvement in the THz signal compared with settings optimized for the best focus. It is possible to optimize for different THz generation processes using this technique.

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