SAPPHIRE OPTICS & CUSTOM SAPPHIRE SHAPES:
SAPPHIRE LENSES, SAPPHIRE BALLS, SAPPHIRE PRISMS & MECHANICAL SHAPES

Sapphire optics and sapphire custom shapes, including sapphire balls, sapphire lenses, sapphire prisms and mechanical parts hold a unique place in the world of optics. A sapphire lens, ball lens and prism all exhibit exceptional performance in a number of applications that require extreme mechanical, optical, thermal and chemical robustness. Sapphire optics also have excellent transmission bandwidths, transmitting well into the UV and IR; a much wider range than most common lens materials.

WHY ARE SAPPHIRE OPTICS & SAPPHIRE MECHANICAL PARTS SUCH HIGH PERFORMERS?

Sapphire Prisms for Optics

SAPPHIRE LENSES, BALLS & PRISMS ARE INCREDIBLY HARD, STRONG & WEAR RESISTANT:

A sapphire lens can be exposed to extreme abradants such as sand and particulates with minimal effect on the clarity of the optics. This makes sapphire optics the ideal material for a variety of applications such as: aerospace lenses, downhole and drilling vision system optics, inspection windows, watch crystals and gun sights.
Sapphire lenses and sapphire prisms can take pressure like no other clear material, making sapphire optics the go-to transparent material for highpressure vessels, deep sea windows and sight glasses. Combined with the exceptional thermal and chemical performance of sapphire, a sapphire lens is the ideal transparency for pressurized in-process, deep sea and equipment sensors.

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SAPPHIRE OPTICS TRANSMIT LIGHT FROM BELOW 190NM TO OVER 5 MICRONS:

Sapphire Glass Micropart with Holes

A sapphire optical lens is the ideal optical material for many UV and I applications because it can transmit so far into the UV and IR wavelengths. With its thermal and chemical robustness, a sapphire window can be exposed to extreme plasmas and temperatures, far greater than any other material, and continue to transmit high powered UV, visible and IR for years with no degradation. These properties make it an ideal material for UV/VIS/IR sensors, IR surveillance and recon and broad band inspection equipment (especially when abradants are involved).
Sapphire windows are the ideal material for pyrometry. They transmit a wide range of wavelengths hile safely isolating hot zones up to 2000C from external room temperature observation. This makes sapphire windows the ideal sight window material for furnaces and high temperature processing equipment.
Sapphire custom shapes for medical and dental tools that require UV sterilization and curing and IR thermal processing are typical applications where sapphire lenses and transparent tools excel.

SAPPHIRE IS HIGHLY ROBUST AT EXTREME TEMPERATURES

A supported sapphire lens, prism and other custom shapes can be taken up to 1950C with no change to its shape and minimal reduction to mechanical performance
Sapphire optics have the highest temperature rating of all optical materials in both oxidizing and inert atmospheres. Combined with extreme chemical resistance, sapphire ball lenses, prisms and other sapphire optics are the go to material for extreme environments.

AND FINALLY, SAPPHIRE OPTICS ARE INCREDIBLY CHEMICAL AND PLASMA RESISTANT:

Sapphire is the ideal plasma resistant material for any plasma processing system, including plasma chambers and plasma viewport applications.
Only hot caustic salts can etch sapphire lenses; all other solvents, acids and caustics have no effect on sapphire (including molten metals). This property allows for safe, chemically pure handling, observation and processing.
Sapphire optics and windows are so chemically and bio-inert, they are the perfect materials for medical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor and other applications where maintaining purity and health is critical.

Rayotek has been fabricating micro to large sapphire lenses, sapphire ball lenses, sapphire prisms and other custom sapphire shapes for over 25 years. Although sapphire is often more costly than glass and other transparent materials, its exceptional properties can ultimately save money, reduce critical down times and often eliminates the need for PM replacements.

SAPPHIRE REFERENCE TABLE
Synthetic sapphire is a single crystal form of corundum, aka, pure single crystal aluminum oxide, A12O3. The combination of its unique properties make sapphire a preferred material for extreme mechanical, chemical & optical applications. Unlike glass, sapphire cannot be molded. Sapphire can be grown into near net shapes such as tubes and rod, then ground and polished if necessary.
Industries Served	Applications
Aerospace	Windows, ball bearings, sensors
Medical	Dental tool tips, endoscopy, camera lens cover
Oil & Gas	Sight window without housing, gauges, diffusion plates
Military	Windows, viewports, sensors, range finders
Research	Containment tubes, cuvettes, lenses
Semiconductor	Plasma tubes, lamps, lasers
Common Grades	Description & Common Applications
	There are numerous sapphire growth methods & grades. Generally, the higher the grade the better the transmission in the UV and IR, and the less light scatter and lattice distortion. The best grades, in particular, UV grade will not solarize.
Verneuil	Original & simplest growth method, lowest cost, excellent for mechanical applications & situations where optical clarity is not critical. Good for lower quality watch crystals & observation ports
EFG (Stepanov)	Edge defined growth method (to be exact, Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth) for near net growth of tubes & large sheets. Better quality than Verneuil, but not as pure & defect free as Kyropoulos or CZ. Excellent for most window applications including scanner windows & viewports and lower cost than Kyropoulos & HEM
Kyropoulos & CZ	Excellent optical properties, ideal method for most optical applications except long exposure high UV & extreme power threshold requirements. Also preferred for high purity applications like semiconductor, LED fabrication & high purity chemistry
HEM	The best quality sapphire, but difficult to acquire & considerably more costly compared to other grades. Quality compared to Kyropoulos usually not significant enough to justify cost for most applications. Best for extreme power & UV applications & for when zero fluorescence &/or high power threshold is required
Orientation	Definition & Common Applications
C-Axis	Also known as the "optical axis". The only orientation that has almost zero birefringence for signals parallel to the C-axis. Used for optimal optical, mechanical, thermal & electrical performance. In a rod or tube the typical C-axis orientation is along its length, in a window perpendicular to the face.
Random	Parts are manufactured with no tracking of the crystal orientation. Lower cost & great for applications where orientation will not impact performance
Other	90 Degree (to C-axis), M-Plane, A-Plane, R-Plane
	Click for Orientation Definitions & Drawing
Properties	Important Properties of Sapphire
	Thermal, physical/mechanical, optical, electrical & chemical
	Click for Sapphire Properties Data Sheet
Transmission & Other Curves	Definition
	The overall transmission of sapphire is determined by purity. All quality sapphire materials transmit about the same in the visible wavelengths while higher purity creates better transmission in the UV and IR. For all optical materials, including sapphire, the thinner the material the deeper it transmits into the UV and IR
	Click for Sapphire Optical & Thermal Properties Graph
	Click for Transparent Materials Transmissions Curves Graph
Surface Finish	Description
Polished	Clear. Has little to no distortion & light scattering (depending on level of polishing). Ideal for optical applications, high purity semiconductor, chemical & vacuum processing
Fine Ground	Frosted. Ground surface roughness can be fine tuned for diffuser & low stiction applications. Tends to have micro-cracks that can trap water, gas & other impurities
As Grown	Clear but not mechanically polished. Some optical distortion due to growth process but no micro cracks. Excellent for high vacuum systems such as plasma chambers & chemical processing where purity is critical but optical clarity is not
	Click for Surface Finish Photos
Surface Quality	Definition & Rating
	The scratch-dig rating of surface quality is a qualitative rating based on comparing the actual surface to a scratch-dig standard. Pass or fail is somewhat subjective without clear dimensions to measure
80-50	Commercial quality such as car windshield and commercial windows
60-40	Good polish, good for commercial lenses and optics. Good for optics where light scatter is not a problem
40-20	Superior polish, good for higher performance optics and lower powered lasers. Reduced light scatter over 60-40
20-10	High Precision polish, extreme optics & good laser power threshold for medium powered lasers. Very little light scatter
10-5	Highest surface quality, highest laser power threshold and lowest vulnerability to solarization. Exceptional optics with near-zero light scatter
	Click for Quality Scratch-Dig Definitions
Why Sapphire?
	One of the hardest materials available
	Superior IR & UV transmission compared to other optical materials
	Highly scratch & abradant resistant
	Highly chemical resistant
	Maximum temperature rating of almost 2000C
	Excellent dielectric & loss tangent performance
Why Rayotek?
	Onsite engineers & master optician
	25+ years of expertise in sapphire & exotic materials manufacturing
	ISO 9001:2008 Certified
	ITAR Registered
	State-of-the-art manufacturing equipment & measurement capabilities
	Cost saving overseas sourcing (for non-ITAR applications only)
	US Manufacturing at Rayotek's 30,000 SqFt facility + partnerships in the U.S., China, Europe & Russia
Sapphire Services
	Annealing
	Bonding/Fusing
	Coating
	Fire Polishing
	Grinding
	Laser Engraving
	Machining
	Screen Printing