Robust chirped mirrors

Optimized chirped mirrors may perform suboptimally, or completely fail to satisfy specifications, when manufacturing errors are encountered. We present a robust optimization method for designing these dispersion-compensating mirror systems that are used in ultrashort pulse lasers. Possible implementation errors in layer thickness are taken into account within an uncertainty set. The algorithm identifies worst-case scenarios with respect to reflectivity as well as group delay. An iterative update improves the robustness and warrants a high manufacturing yield, even when the encountered errors are larger than anticipated.