Ultimate field-free molecular alignment by combined adiabatic-impulsive field design

We show that a laser pulse designed as an adiabatic ramp followed by a kick allows one to reach a perfect postpulse molecular alignment, free of saturation. The mechanism is based on an optimized distribution of the energy between a weakly efficient but nonsaturating adiabatic ramp and an efficient but saturating impulsive field. Unprecedented degrees of alignment are predicted using state-of-the-art pulse shaping techniques and nondestructive field intensities. The scheme can be extended to reach high degrees of orientation of polar molecules using designed half-cycle pulses.