Ti: Sapphire crystal is the most widely used tunable solid-state laser material combining the supreme physical and optical properties with an extremely broad lasing range. Its lasing bandwidth can support pulses < 10fs making it the crystal of choice for femtosecond mode-locked oscillators and amplifiers. The absorption band of Ti: Sapphire centers at ~ 490 nm so it may be conveniently pumped by various laser sources such as argon ion lasers or frequency-doubled Nd: YAG, Nd: YLF, Nd: YVO4 lasers at ~530nm.
Laser designers are using Ti: sapphire to generate femtosecond pulses to create new industrial tools. A properly delivered femtosecond laser pulse interacts with the target leaving the surrounding area undisturbed. Newly developed femtosecond pulsed lasers micro-machine complex fine structures in glass, metal, and other materials. Active waveguides can be written below the surface, integrating optical devices within the body of a substrate. Defects in photomasks can be repaired without disturbing neighboring patterns. And it is now possible to achieve cellular resolution in vivo for medical diagnosis with femtosecond pulse lasers.
