Titanium-Sapphire

From Qwiki

GOD's gift to tunable lasers in the NIR.

Titanium doped Sapphire (Ti:S, Ti:Sapphire, Ti:Sapph) is a remarkable laser medium with gain over an extremely broad range of wavelengths, 660nm to 1180nm. Common Ti:Sapph lasers, however, operate in the region from 700nm-1000nm. Ti:Sapph will lase simultaneously over a range of wavelengths making it an ideal laser medium for mode locked operation. Mode-Locked Ti:Sapph lasers can generate pulses with sub 10fs pulse durations and peak powers in the many megawatts. These lasers have featured prominently in the generation of Optical Frequency Combs, and the high peak intensities have made it possible to generate frequency combs which span more than an octave using Ti:Sapph lasers and external nonlinear media. Ti:Sapph has a four level laser structure with a pump band from 400nm-600nm. This range accommodates a variety of pump sources including argon ion, frequency doubled Nd:YLF, and diode lasers.

A common Ti:Sapph laser is the Coherent 899 series. It is simultaneously very useful and somewhat annoying.