Sapphire Windows | Quality Windows | Custom Prices

Sapphire windows have been used in almost any industry application imaginable, with each application different in its needs. Industries utilize sapphire windows as components for tools and equipment, pieces in a final product, and safety equipment for employees.

This material may also be shaped for custom applications and gently curved to accommodate magnification and shape molding. Below is a list of some of the more popular everyday uses for windows:

Commercial Uses: Laser Optics to Airplanes

Commercial ovens and furnaces often need viewports, but conventional glass is too weak to withstand the high-temperature applications. Because of sapphire’s spectacular ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures hot and cold, it is often used in these applications, as well as in cryogenics. Sapphire also allows ion lasers to pass through efficiently with minimal arc for use in laser optics.

Sapphire may also be used in custom lasers and drilling optics, in high-pressure manufacturing, and as safety shields for workers. The sapphire’s unique resistance to abrasion, impacts, and high temperatures come into play in each of these applications.

Additionally, commercial jets and airplanes utilize sapphire window glass in place of regular vehicle glass to help protect the interior, keeping the cabin pressurized and reducing the risk of abrasive scratching and any debris impact.

Military Uses: Combat Protection to Submarines

The military is one of the most common places to find sapphire glass in use, as no other industry requires products known for their reliability and durability like the military does.

Because sapphire can maintain its key attributes even when exposed to high heat, impact, and pressure applications with a strong resistance to abrasions and chemicals, it is well-suited to a lot of military applications from direct combat to surveillance.

Many military vehicles, for example, use these windows made with layered sapphire as a protective layer of transparent shielding in place of conventional vehicle glass. This includes air vehicles like fighter jets, to waterborne vehicles such as submarines, both of which rely on the sapphire glass’s high resistance to abrasion and pressure. 

Lasers, weapon sights, and even bulletproof armor often incorporate some form of sapphire layered into the application, relying on the resistance to abrasive materials, heat, and impact the material provides.

Medical Uses: Lab Tests to Plungers

The medical industry is familiar with the precise needs of its equipment. Sapphire has long since provided a stable and reliable source of equipment and shields to help aid in technological advancements and proper diagnoses.

Sapphire rods are often used for dental laser devices, and while ceramic is largely used for dental implants now as it is closer to the color and texture of teeth, sapphire was once a common material.

Other medical applications include surgical knife blades, hematology filters for laboratory tests, and protective window materials for endoscopes.

Sapphire has long since been a primary component in medical-grade equipment because the glass is resistant to scratching and wear which can harbor dangerous bacteria.

A great example of this is with medical plunger pumps, where the glass may see a wide variety of bacterial, chemical, or biological material.

Additionally, sapphire is easy to disinfect and easy to see through when necessary, protecting the softer metals of precision equipment in cases where it may need to touch biological or chemical material.

Luxury and Daily Uses: Camera Lenses to Eyeglasses

One application of a sapphire window that you might use every day is its application in the common eyeglass lens. These sapphire windows are often AR coated to prevent glare caused by light reflecting on the surface of the optical windows, as well as to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.

While only higher-end eyeglasses will be made with sapphire for the ultimate UV protection, it is still a common material. Many cheap alternatives strive to – and often fail – achieve the same level of quality expected from a sapphire eyeglass.

Sapphire windows have also been notably used in other non-industrial applications such as smartphone screens and luxury watches. While these watches are expensive, they are also held to a higher standard.

Where some low-end watches might have a plastic or flame fusion crystal as the window, these products are still susceptible to scratching and everyday wear. Sapphire crystal windows, however, are virtually scratch-proof and will withstand daily wear better than any other material on the market currently.

Often, luxury applications of synthetic sapphire are meant to provide the wearer with peace of mind of scratch resistance that also provides gemstone-like beauty.