The vacuum ultraviolet (V‑UV) band (100–200 nm) can be generated by non-linear 4 wave mixing in gases by sum or difference frequency mixing of 2 or more longer wavelength lasers. The generation is generally done in gasses (e.g. krypton, hydrogen which are two-photon resonant near 193 nm) or metal vapors (e.g. magnesium). By making one of the lasers tunable, the V‑UV can be tuned. If one of the lasers is resonant with a transition in the gas or vapor then the V‑UV production is intensified. However, resonances also generate wavelength dispersion, and thus the phase matching can limit the tunable range of the 4 wave mixing. Difference frequency mixing (i.e., ) has an advantage over sum frequency mixing because the phase matching can provide greater tuning.
In particular, difference frequency mixing two photons of an  (193 nm) excimer laser with a tunable visible or near IR laser in hydrogen or krypton provides resonantly enhanced tunable V‑UV covering from 100 nm to 200 nm. Practically, the lack of suitable gas / vapor cell window materials above the lithium fluoride cut-off wavelength limit the tuning range to longer than about 110 nm. Tunable V‑UV wavelengths down to 75 nm was achieved using window-free configurations.