  Probing an atomic resonance without disturbing it is an ubiquitous issue in
physics. This problem is critical in high-accuracy spectroscopy or for the next
generation of atomic optical clocks. Ultra-high resolution frequency metrology
requires sophisticated interrogation schemes and robust protocols handling
pulse length errors and residual frequency detuning offsets . This review
reports recent progress and perspective in such schemes, using sequences of
composite laser-pulses tailored in pulse duration, frequency and phase,
inspired by NMR techniques and quantum information processing. After a short
presentation of Rabi technique and NMR-like composite pulses allowing efficient
compensation of electromagnetic field perturbations to achieve robust
population transfers, composite laser-pulses are investigated within Ramsey's
method of separated oscillating fields in order to generate non-linear
compensation of probe-induced frequency shifts. Laser-pulses protocols such as
Hyper-Ramsey (HR), Modified Hyper-Ramsey (MHR), Generalized Hyper-Ramsey (GHR)
and hybrid schemes are reviewed. These techniques provide excellent protection
against both probe induced light-shift perturbations and laser intensity
variations. More sophisticated schemes generating synthetic frequency-shifts
are presented. They allow to reduce or completely eliminate imperfect
correction of probe-induced frequency-shifts even in presence of decoherence
due to the laser line-width. Finally, two universal protocols are presented
which provide complete elimination of probe-induced frequency shifts in the
general case where both decoherence and relaxation dissipation effects are
present by using exact analytic expressions for phase-shifts and the clock
frequency detuning. These techniques might be applied to atomic, molecular and
nuclear frequency metrology, mass spectrometry as well as precision
spectroscopy.
