SAPPHIRE

Sapphire is often coated with an AR Coating to improve transmission performance. Sapphire has a relatively high refractive index, in comparison to standard flint/crown glasses so sapphire lenses are often used in small form systems that require a shorter focal length. Sapphire is a birefringent material and is grown in a random orientation. General-purpose sapphire optics are often cut at a 60° axis as this is the axis that the material is softest, however, Knight Optical supplies a range of sapphire windows and sapphire lenses in a range of sapphire grades, including random-cut, C-Cut, fluorescent free and UV grade sapphire to effectively meet a wide range of requirements. As sapphire is lab-grown it can be difficult to produce large optics of good uniform quality, however, we are able to produce parts with sizes greater than 320mm with negligible impurities. We manufacture sapphire optics that have been grown in the Kyropoulos method to allow for a large size, the Czochralski..

Also known as: Knight Optical