The manufacturer's documented sapphire listings include a customised high-quality sapphire stepped optical window: the step is a machined mounting feature, evidence that the range covers profiled parts made to drawing rather than only polished discs.
Sapphire also appears as one material in the documented multi-material window assortment — sapphire alongside K9, CaF2, MgF2, quartz, ZnSe, ZnS and infrared silicon — which is useful when a buyer's window set spans visible and infrared instruments and they want one supplier conversation for the whole set. Transmission runs from the ultraviolet through the visible into the mid-infrared, so a sapphire window often covers a sensor's full working band where a glass window would need a coating compromise. The two documented listings carry different minimums — ten pieces for the stepped window and thirty pieces for the multi-material assortment — so an enquiry names the listing the part belongs to.
Documented Sapphire Listings
| Listing (storefront) | Documented detail | MOQ |
|---|---|---|
| Customised sapphire stepped optical window | Stepped profile for mounting, made to specification | 10 pieces |
| Multi-material window assortment | Sapphire with K9 / CaF2 / MgF2 / quartz / ZnSe / ZnS / silicon | 30 pieces |
The two listings stand in the source catalogue under their recorded names: 'Customized High Quality Sapphire Stepped Optical Window', recorded at FOB US$5–10 per piece with a minimum of ten pieces, and 'Optical Sapphire K9 CaF2 MgF2 Quartz ZnSe ZnS Infrared Silicon Windows', recorded at FOB US$1–6 per piece with a minimum of thirty pieces. The price band and the minimum in each case belong to that listing as recorded; neither is a price for a buyer's exact part, whose dimensions, profile and quantity are priced in the written quotation. An enquiry therefore names the listing it follows, so the reply can work from the recorded band and minimum for that line.
Specifying a Sapphire Window
Send the outline dimensions and thickness, the profile drawing if the part is stepped or shaped, the wavelength band, and the environment the window faces — pressure differential, temperature and what touches its surfaces. For a benign benchtop instrument, a K9 or quartz window from the windows range is the recorded alternative in the same range. For infrared laser service, compare ZnSe windows; for long-wave thermal imaging, see the germanium window enquiry notes before treating that material as available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose sapphire over glass?
Hardness, strength and chemical and temperature resistance.
Can sapphire windows be machined to a profile?
Yes — a stepped sapphire window is a documented listing. Send the profile drawing with the enquiry.
What is the minimum order?
10 pieces for the stepped sapphire listing; 30 pieces for the multi-material assortment.
When Sapphire Is the Wrong Answer
A balanced specification page should say where its material loses. Sapphire loses on band first: its useful transmission ends in the mid-infrared, so a long-wave thermal instrument cannot use it no matter how hostile the environment — that job stays with germanium or ZnSe. It loses on birefringence in polarisation-sensitive paths, where sapphire's crystal nature makes its behaviour axis-dependent unless the orientation is specified and controlled.
Request a Quotation
Tell us the component, material, dimensions and coating you need. Pricing and lead time for your specification are confirmed in the written quotation.