Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the sapphire crystal?
  2. What is maximum sizes of the Sapphire crystals?
  3. What is application of the Sapphire crystals?
  4. What is the difference between natural and synthetic sapphire?
  5. Is sapphire used in lasers?
  6. Is it true that a ruby laser was used to scan the Moon surface from Earth to accurately map its topography?
  7. Can Sapphire be uses as a transparent window?
  8. I have found information that after special treatment corundum has tensile strength 2 GPa. Can you confirm this information? Who may manufacture such corundum?
  9. I would like to know what size tubes you have available, and their pressure rating, I wish to use them as a view pressure vessel, approx 50 - 100ml volume. I would also like some additional information about the preferred method of sealing to 316L stainless steel end plates I need to manufacture. The pressure I am shooting for is approx 350BAR.
  10. We are looking for a supplier of non-Verneuil Ruby material, 0.125 dia X 1.500 long (inches) fine grind OD. 1,000 pcs to 5,000 pieces annually. If this Ruby material available as Kyropoulos material for a semi-con application?
  11. The 2 GPa tensile strength of corundum has not been confirmed by anyone else, either. So I will assume that the tensile strength of sapphire monocrystal is 400 MPa. I have further questions: 1) if sapphire is subjected to essentially constant tension of e.g. 350 MPa, does it experience fatigue? 2) Can you make a sapphire plate, whose width is given by a given Gaussian function (maximum e.g. 40 mm in the center), thickness about 1 mm, and length about 200 mm?
  12. I would like to have thermal properties of r-plane.
  13. What is the difference between “random orientation” and a specific orientation (C-axis is not always the best, A-plane is actually easier to grind and polish, etc.).
  14. 1) if sapphire is subjected to essentially constant tension of e.g. 350 MPa, does it experience fatigue? 2) Can you make a sapphire plate, whose width is given by a given Gaussian function (maximum e.g. 40 mm in the center), thickness about 1 mm, and length about 200 mm?
  15. May you write me what is the difference between the fusion and latent melting heats in the case of sapphire, please? What their physical meanings are?
  16. I would like to ask you to send me further thermal data of sapphire. May you write me the heats of fusion and evaporation of sapphire, please?
  17. What is the technical sapphire?
  18. What is meaning of Repture modulus?
  19. What are principle methods for growing synthetic sapphire?
  20. I have a question in regards to sapphire and lasers. How does sapphire hold up against lasers. I need to cut some semi transparent film with a laser. I'm using a backlight and a machine vision system to determine where I need to cut, and then use a laser to cut. The focused laser power is less the 2 watts. Do you think sapphire would not ablate with this power of laser?
  21. I would like to use sapphire window in an instrument measuring fluorescence of a fluid in a well. The excitation light would pass through the sapphire window. How much will the sapphire fluorescence compared to fused silica or optical glasses?
  22. I wonder why is sapphire corrosion resistence? Which property helps to determine that this material is corrosion resistant?
  23. We are planning to produce corundum and emeral for jewelry by method of flux growth in furnace, do you have them? Please, get us in detail about your products, if any.
  24. I am designing a scratch resistant watch for my sophomore year-end project. My extensive research had shown that sapphire glasses are used widely in watch industry. Hence, I would like to ask what are the exact physical properties (numerical range) a scratch resistant watch should have and is there other alternative material that are similar to sapphire.
  25. We've a optical sensor which exists of 2 saphire windows in glued a Stainless steel housing. The windows and the cylindrical SS housing should be one smouth surface. No glue recesses are allowed. Can you grind and/or lappe the surfaces without loosing optical properties?
  26. Please, give me the offer for 1 pcs sapphire growing machine (EFG type) and finishing machines too.
  27. Hi, I work in a lab and we will be working with sapphire at low temperatures. Our apparatus will be going under different stresses and I was wondering what type of stresses and strain it can take at temperatures down less than 4K. I have been looking for elastic moduli figures, but I can't find any values for sapphire less than room temperature. As a company that deals with sapphire for optics and mechanical purposes, I was wondering if you had any information?
  28. Hello, i'm looking for a 1000 mm long tube with 63 od and 1.5 mm thickness. I will use the tube to take pictures of micro-particles inside so I need the tube to have a good superdificial quality. Could you send me an offer for the item?
  29. We are intresting to buy Verneuil Furnace Maching if you can supply or help me any Supply contact.
  30. Do you produce single crystal? Our company wanna to purchase the sapphire for making substrate?
  31. I have some poor quality grown sapphire capillaries (~2mm od x 1mm id, 80mm long, capped at one end). I am wondering if I can anneal these to remove microfractures. What temperature would be needed and should the annealing be done in vacuum, inert gas (He, or Ar) or in hydrogen? Obviously I am also looking for another supplier — do you sell small quantities (5-10 units) of single crystal sapphire capillaries in sizes similar to above?
  32. We are at this stage working on a prototype laser for subsea use. We need a custom made flange mounted on a clear glass. The glass diameter will be ca 30mm. I am not sure of which type of glass we need for the application. Max pressure will be 15.000psi and max temp 150 degC. Do we need to use a sapphire to get it strong enough or can we go for a glass of lower quality/price? How thick will the glass need to be to be able to handle this type of pressure and temperature? If this product are set in production a Typical order of glass will be 25-50 or 100 pieces, how will this impact on the price?
  33. Do you have numbers for internal transmission of sapphire from UV to past 6 microns?
  34. We have some sapphire wafers that are about .800" in dia. x .1" thick. We are drilling holes in these wafers from .066" dia. to .010" dia. The wafers are cracking so we need to anneal them. What is the process for annealing sapphire?
  35. Would it be possible for you to send me a price list for High pressure sight windows?
  36. What raw material is used to make your sapphires? It is alpha aluminum oxide, I know, but is this alpha A12O3 made out of bauxite, or is it chemically synthesized?
  37. What is the smallest OD sapphire microtubes can do you offer?
  38. We need a sapphire tube with approximately dimension: OD 25 mm x ID 20 mm x L 1000 mm. Please, how can we achive that?
  39. Can Sapphire change the colour by heat? Which chemicals are use for change the colour of Sapphire?
  40. I have been polishing c-plane sapphire using alumina slurry and have been getting around 12 um/hr removal rate. I am trying now to polish A plane sapphire, but my removal rate dropped considerably to less than 4 um/hr? Do the A plane and C plane polish differently?
  41. I am thinking about using a sapphire lightpipe to reduce the effect ot convection currents in a 1000degC interferometer instrument I am designing. I would need a lightpipe around 40mm across (either circular or rectangular 40mm x10mm). How long a lightpipe would be possible to have made? I would need the end faces to be parallel and polished, but slightly tilted to stop reflections affecting my instrument. As I am using polarised light in my experiment is it possible to select a crystal orientation that will not experience birefringence? I assume as the material is a single crystal that the material properties are very homogeneous.
  42. I am looking for ruby crystal plates thermally annealed so that the can be used for high-pressure measurements by measuring the Cr-luminescence spectral shift. Do you produce such annealed ruby plates? If you do, I need some 100μm - 1 mm thick and from 1 mm diameter and larger. If you don't produce such crystals, could you please suggest who does? I appreciate your advice.
  43. I have some random orientation sapphire windows, what is the easiest way to determine the planes of them?
  44. I am an independent consultant looking at failures of sapphire glass tubes. Micro cracking have been experienced in sapphire tubes during the plasma etch process. Do you have any technical literature on this failure mechanism? I'm touching base with many sapphire tube suppliers. I'm not looking to point the fingure an anyone. I'm just collecting information and comming up to speed on this type of failure.
  45. However, when I investigated thermal expansion and contraction issues, a couple sapphire fabricators stated that they can heat the glass up to red hot and drop it in water without it cracking. They also mentioned another failure mode having to do with surface etching and surface fractures from the plasma. They have a very technical name for it and I can't remember what it was called. Do you have anything idea of this surface etching phenomena?
  46. Which type of sapphire windows are preferable for mounting on combustion chamber at high pressure & temperature?
  47. Would you have a catalogue for your sapphire tubes and rods and their prices?
  48. Can you tell me the internal transmission of sapphire at 300nm? Please ensure that the sample length is quoted with the internal transmission number.
  49. I want to get information about the prices of the sapphire windows.
  50. Can Sapphire change the colour by heat? Which chemicals are use for change colour of Sapphire?
  51. Are there any differences in the physical properties of a-plane vs. c-plane sapphire wafers?
  52. I need to a part to be manufactured from “Synthetic Sapphire”. I was wondering if you will be able to do this?
  53. Does the flexure strength of sapphire increase with thickness; for example 0.7 vs. 1.4 mm thick; Is this size and shape and shape dependent? 2" or 3" diameter or 2" or 3" rectangular piece.
  54. We'd like to measure some effects on materials in an oven. The product itself can increase temperatures up to 2000°C. I have no idea about the air temperature of the oven. I want to use sapphire as a window for a cooled thermal imaging camera from 3-5µm. Would Sapphire be the right choise? What is the thickness I should take, or is there a maximum diameter? Is it possible to buy just one or two pieces?
  55. I'm a jeweler who works in sterling silver, gold & precious gem stones. I'm adding in a new element of saphire glass to my designs & would like some pricing info on some of your products. I'm particularly interested in the special shapes like the small tubes, small domes, small rods, wedges & small sapphire windows. As of now I'm not looking to custom order any special shapes, I'm looking at the pictures you have online. Do you have a price list for your products in the different shapes & sizes you offer or does everything have to be specifically custom ordered?
  56. Do you have any detail on how the IR transmission changes as the temperature of sapphire heats up from ambient to 1500°C?

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