Extended tunability of Ti:Sapphire lasers in CW and quasi-CW operation

Advances in the output powers and beam quality of DPSS lasers have provided tens of Watts of green pump power in a reliable and compact form. This paper describes advances in the performance of both single frequency CW and femtosecond modelocked Ti:Sapphire (Ti:S) lasers using such high power pump lasers. Short wavelength performance below 660 nm for the CW system is described and long wavelength tunabitity beyond 1100 nm. Continuous tunability of the modelocked system of over 400 nm will be presented and power performance for different output coupling and pump levels described. The applicability of these high performance systems to demanding new applications will also be described.