There are numerous applications that require wavelength-tunable laser sources. These include differential optical absorption spectroscopy instruments for methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen, etc., and various in-situ spectrometers. Nonlinear frequency conversion enables laser sources to reach wavelengths not directly accessible through other means but can make wavelength tuning more difficult. Other wavelength tuning methods in nonlinear frequency conversion are slow (temperature), complicated (multiple crystals or complex mechanical tuning) or inefficient (chirped gratings or non-optimized phase matching conditions).
Thus, an alternative approach that eliminates these issues and yields high-efficiency, fast, tunable nonlinear wavelength conversion may be beneficial.