Real-time phase mask synthesis for generation of arbitrarily complex waveforms using Gerberg-Saxton algorithm

Summary form only given. Shaped femtosecond pulses are required in many coherent control and adaptive feedback control applications. Among the methods developed, Fourier-domain pulse shaping is the most mature. Using phase-only filtering is particularly beneficial for its simplicity, high throughput and compatibility with high-energy femtosecond-pulse amplifiers. Generation of complex temporal intensity profiles, such as asymmetric pulses and pulse trains, usually requires lengthy computations of the phase mask, which would yield the best approximation of the target in time domain. Typical routines employed for this purpose are the global search algorithms, such as simulated annealing or genetic algorithm. The computational time in these cases scales nonlinearly with the resolution of the pulse shaper and the desired number of grey levels of phase. We present a method for generating the optimal phase masks rapidly using the Gerberg-Saxton (GS) algorithm.