CONTROL OF CHEMICAL-REACTIONS BY FEEDBACK-OPTIMIZED PHASE-SHAPED FEMTOSECOND LASER-PULSES

Tailored femtosecond laser pulses from a computer-controlled pulse sha per were used to optimize the branching ratios of different organometa llic photodissociation reaction channels. The optimization procedure i s based on the feedback from reaction product quantities in a Learning evolutionary algorithm that iteratively improves the phase of the app lied femtosecond Laser pulse. In the case of CpFe(CO)(2)Cl, it is show n that two different bond-cleaving reactions can be selected, resultin g in chemically different products. At Least in this case, the method works automatically and finds optimal solutions without previous knowl edge of the molecular system and the experimental environment.