5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs sapphire window？

In many industries, a clear but protective shield is important for allowing visibility while maintaining safety. Additionally, scratch resistance is becoming a more important factor in eyeglasses, microscopes, windshields, and many other products, necessitating an innovative approach to an old solution.

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For years, glass or glass-like products have been used, but sapphire windows have been making waves in the recent decade as a safe alternative that can withstand even the most abrasive or caustic materials, all while providing the most clarity possible.

So, what is a sapphire window, and how is it better than regular glass? Learn more today with this guide from Analytical Components, your manufacturing source for sapphire windows and flat stock.

A sapphire window is a clear glass-like substance that is crystalline. Made from synthetic lab-created sapphire, these windows can be created without depleting a natural sapphire resource.

While the crystalline window or flat stock is similar in appearance to glass, sapphire is much more versatile and resistant to abrasives, pressure, temperature, and many other environmental conditions that would otherwise break regular silicate glass.

Lab-grown sapphire is grown in a specific crystalline structure to minimize birefringence, then cut to the desired size and shape necessary to create the end-product. The flat stock is then polished to the desired finish to maintain optical clarity and surface smoothness.

The process for creating these windows is much more involved than that of conventional glass, but the benefits it provides are well-worth the extended effort and time it takes to produce.

Sapphire is extremely durable, resistant to scratches, scrapes, dents, impacts, and many other damages that might otherwise break conventional silica glass. Pound  for pound, sapphire can withstand more than quartz, which is also known for its durability.

The sapphire used in these windows is synthetically grown in a laboratory which helps speed up the process and availability of the end component.

These stones are created through a process called hydrothermal synthesis which closely mimics natural formations. This process subjects a &#;seed crystal&#; of sapphire to intense levels of artificial heat and pressure in a laboratory setting which causes the crystal to expand in the expected crystalline form and material.

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Sapphire windows are created from this material, which is then cut into rods then sliced into thin discs, which are then ground, polished, and layered according to the necessary specifications.

Depending on the application, the sapphire window may also be coated with certain materials to accommodate particular needs, such as anti-reflective (AR) coating for optical clarity in glasses, telescopes, and microscopes.

Because of its chemical resistance, chemicals will not stick to sapphire glass, even in higher temperatures. This makes sapphire tubes and rods ideal in applications that come in contact with these caustic materials such as acids, plasma, or molten metals, allowing these materials to be worked around and handled safely. 

Sapphire can maintain robust in extreme temperatures all with zero degradation in both oxidizing and inert atmospheres, making it the perfect choice for scientific fields and precision equipment in environments where it would be exposed to chemical abrasives.

The only materials known to scratch sapphire glass rods and tubes are hot caustic salts.

Beyond this, sapphire glass is known to remain bio-inert, making it ideal not just in manufacturing applications, but also in medical applications where it is essential to maintain sanitary conditions for the health of the patient and staff.

Many people ask me what the benefits are to using sapphire windows instead of glass or fused silica. There are a few short easy answers such as; It&#;s scratch resistant, stronger, etc., but there&#;s even more involved such as spectral ranges and long term costs.

Below, I&#;ll do my best to touch on each benefit.

1. Yes, it&#;s stronger and more expensive than typical glass. However, what is the long term cost of the fused silica window that you replace every month? Maybe there&#;s a glass optical component that causes your product to decline in performance over time due to harsh conditions. This is a perfect opportunity for a sapphire window. Al2O3 (sapphire) has a mohs hardness rating of 9. That&#;s 1 less than diamond, making it the second hardest material we can use for optical designs. The cost is a bit more than glass, but the savings over time can be remarkable. Replacing that glass window that you had to repair once a month with a sapphire window might be the last time you ever make that repair, and you won&#;t see a reduction in performance over time.
2. Transmission range from UV to the Mid-IR. There aren&#;t any ultra-strong optical materials that cover the same spectrum as sapphire. For example: Common glass ranges from about 375nm to nm. Guild Optics can source sapphire that transmits well starting at 190nm all the way to nm. That&#;s fairly deep into the ultraviolet and into the mid infrared! Without any anti-reflective coatings, sapphire transmits through most of this range at 86%. Sometimes I have customers who want sapphire for their harsh condition application, but need a little more transmission. In this case, I recommend a normal AR coating on the interior face only, leaving bare sapphire on the exterior face to stand up to the abuse. The single side AR coating can increase your overall transmission to > 92%.
3. Mechanical Properties. Yet again, the answer here is tough and strong. Glass starts melting at °C. Sapphire is still useful at that same temperature. In fact a sapphire window can be used for most applications up to °C or slightly greater. That&#;s nearly °F. To quote an old popular quote from the &#;s, &#;That&#;s Hot.&#;
   But there&#;s more! Sapphire Windows are also nearly impervious to all chemicals. Only very strong hot caustics can eventually etch or damage a polished sapphire optical surface. It&#;s also an excellent thermal conductor.

So there you have it. The benefits of Sapphire windows might be the answer for your next project if any of these points sounded interesting to you. Guild Optical Associates is the place to call.