Mast materials

I saw an early post by Mikey2 inquiring about aluminum masts for a project he is doing. I am working on a similar project and need to know what other materials masts are commonly made of. I would like to know specifics (i.e. Aluminum T6 6061, not just aluminum), any information on how they are formed (is the material melted or just heated and pushed through a die, or perhaps cut in the case of some composites), and finishing processes that affect material properties such as anodizing.

I believe there are some made of titanium, but I'm not sure which grade. I know there are carbon fiber masts, but again there are a lot of different carbon fibers out there. And what about steel? I thought it was too heavy but then someone told me there are some out there.

Thanks for any insight you may have.