Experimental Evaluation of a Zernike-Mode-Based Hill-Climbing Algorithm for Adaptive Optics

The use of adaptive optics in ultrafast laser manufacturing has demonstrated significant benefits in mitigating non-ideal effects related to excessive energy concentration, commonly associated with modern ultrafast laser systems. Among the available solutions, deformable mirrors represent a suitable compromise in terms of efficiency, flexibility and ease of integration, and are typically controlled through Zernike polynomials. In this work, an analytical model based on Physical Optics Propagation is combined with a Hill Climbing optimization algorithm to determine the Zernike polynomial combinations required to generate specific target spot shapes. The approach is experimentally implemented and validated, allowing direct comparison between model predictions and measured results. The analysis highlights both the capability of the model in identifying the most relevant Zernike modes and its limitations in accurately predicting coefficient t amplitudes under real experimental conditions.