Crystal Systems provides large sapphire plates of 15" diameter in mechanical as well as optical qualities. Sapphire has an operating temperature of over 2000 °C with low thermal expansion coefficient.
The sapphire has a measurement of nine on the Mohs scale. With these characteristics, sapphire is well suited for severe environments where the failure of materials is unacceptable. The company offers sapphire plates in custom shapes and sizes.
Sapphire Optics for Mechanical Applications
The sapphire plates are used in aerospace, aeronautical, and semiconductor industries. The industrial application experts of the aeronautical and semiconductor fields seek single-crystal sapphire windows and plates in more than 14” diameter, for product designs. The semiconductor industry is increasing the size of the gallium arsenide and silicon wafers. Due to this move, the size of sapphire wafer carriers must also be increased.
The aerospace industry is opting for sapphire windows than the non-sapphire ones because of the sapphire’s optical properties and strong nature. These large-dimension standards necessitated the scale-up of the HEM (heat exchange method) of crystal growth, and fabrication processes, which suit the new range of components.
Source: http://www.crystalsystems.com/