Controlling correlated electron dynamics is a central challenge in ultrafast science, with implications for the development of coherent light sources and quantum information technologies. Traditional methods for manipulating strong-field ionization processes often rely on complex laser fields, limiting their practical utility. Here, we demonstrate that a common laser parameter—chirp—can serve as a robust and efficient optical switch to selectively control the pathway of nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) in argon atoms. Using a three-dimensional classical ensemble model, we show that chirped pulses can continuously tune the dominant mechanism between direct electron-impact ionization and recollision-excitation with subsequent ionization. Notably, at a laser intensity of $I_0=0.07\text{PW}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$, tuning the chirp parameter to $|\xi |=3$ reduces the electron-impact contribution to less than 2.5%, demonstrating near-complete switching to the recollision-excitation-dominated NSDI regime. This chirp-induced pathway switching demonstrates the potential for application-specific control over strong-field processes, which may be relevant to the generation of high-Rydberg states and the optimization of attosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulses.

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• Nonsequential double (or multiple) ionization
• Strong field ionization & excitation
• Ultrafast phenomena
• Atoms
• Noble gases
• Laser techniques
• Semiclassical methods