Ultrafast adiabatic frequency conversion is a powerful method, capable of efficiently and coherently transfering ultrashort pulses between different spectral ranges, e.g. from near-infrared to mid-infrared, visible or ultra-violet. This is highly desirable in research fields that are currently limited by available ultrafast laser sources, e.g. attosecond science, strong-field physics, high-harmonic generation spectroscopy and multidimensional mid-infrared spectroscopy. Over the past decade, adiabatic frequency conversion has substantially evolved. Initially applied to quasi-monochromatic, undepleted pump interactions, it has been generalized to include ultrashort, broadband, fully-nonlinear dynamics. Through significant theoretical development and experimental demonstrations, it has delivered new capabilities and superior performance in terms of bandwidth, efficiency and robustness, as compared to other frequency conversion techniques. This article introduces the concept of adiabatic nonlinear frequency conversion, reviews its theoretical foundations, presents significant milestones and highlights contemporary ultrafast applications that may, or already do, benefit from utilizing this method.

超快绝热频率转换是一种强大的方法，能够在不同光谱范围（例如，从近红外到中红外、可见光或紫外光）之间有效且连贯地传输超短脉冲。这在目前受限于可用超快激光源的研究领域中是非常可取的，例如阿秒科学、强场物理学、高次谐波产生光谱和多维中红外光谱。在过去的十年中，绝热频率转换有了很大的发展。最初应用于准单色、未耗尽的泵浦相互作用，它已被推广到包括超短、宽带、全非线性动力学。通过重大的理论发展和实验论证，与其他频率转换技术相比，它在带宽、效率和稳健性方面提供了新的功能和卓越的性能。本文介绍了绝热非线性频率转换的概念，回顾了其理论基础，提出了重要的里程碑，并重点介绍了可能或已经受益于使用这种方法的当代超快应用。