Ti:sapphire Lasers: Past, Present and Future

The presentation will review a history of a tunable laser based on Ti:Sapphire (Ti³⁺ doped Al₂O₃) and it will show the crucial milestones of the development of this unique system for generation of ultrashort laser pulses. Recent practical and potential future applications of these laser systems, as well as possible directions of future research will be also covered.

Peter Moulton - biographical information: Combining a technical and business career, for over 35 years Peter Moulton has worked to develop and commercialize solid state laser and nonlinear optical devices. While at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, in 1982 he invented the Ti:sapphire tunable solid state laser, which revolutionized the field of ultrafast lasers and helped enable a number of significant scientific and engineering advances. These continue, notably in the area of high-harmonic and attosecond-pulse generation. He helped found what has evolved to Q-Peak, Inc. and led a team of researchers that has transitioned many novel materials and devices out of the laboratory for use in a wide variety of applications, including science, medicine, and defense. His efforts in development of high-power visible-wavelength sources have led to a VC-funded spin-out company, Laser Light Engines, now working to enable large-screen, laser-based digital projectors. Moulton continues to innovate, concentrating now on high-power, fiber lasers and ultrafast, mid-infrared laser systems. An IEEE Life Fellow, OSA Fellow, and member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Moulton recently retired as the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Q-Peak, Inc. in Bedford, Massachusetts, and remains there as a Principal Scientist. He was awarded the R.W. Wood Prize from the OSA and the William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award from IEEE, both in 1997.