Titanium doped Sapphire (Ti3+:Al2O3 or Ti:Sapphire) is the most widely used crystal for wavelengths tunable lasers. It combines the excellent thermal, physical and optical properties of Sapphire with the broadest tunable range of any known material. It can be lased over the entire band from 660 to 1100 nm. Frequency doubling provides tunability over the blue-green region of the visible spectrum.
     Ti:Sapphire crystals are active media for highly efficient tunable solid-state lasers. They demonstrate good operation in the pulsed-periodic, quasi-CW and CW modes of operation. Ti:Sapphire is a 4-level, Vibronic laser with fluorescence lifetime of 3.6 µm. The peak of the absorption band is 490 nm which makes it an excellent material for pumping with a variety of sources operating in the green-argon ion, copper vapour, frequency-doubled Nd:YAG, and dye lasers are routinely used. Crystals have also been flashlight pumped by lamps designed to allow short fluorescence lifetime. These factors and broad tunability make it an excellent replacement for several common dye lasing materials. The crystals are grown using Czochralsky and Ciropolous techniques.

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