Substrates:

· Blue LED's (BLED's) - sapphire is the substrate for the growth of III-V and II-VI compounds such as GaN for LED's.
· IR Detectors - sapphire provides the substrate for the growth of mercury cadmium tellurium (HgCdTe)
· GaAs wafer carriers
· microwave integrated circuits

Aerospace: Sapphire is used for its durability and erosion/corrosion resistance, often in combination with the ability to withstand high heat while having a very broad transmission range. Applications include:

· Windows - FLIR (Forward Looking Infra Red) windows for sensors and other optics. Optical clarity over a broad spectral range combines with durability in this application.

· Windows - for erosion resistance in salt and blowing sand environments, sapphire is used in conventional windows and dome shapes in replacement of softer, more fragile IR transmitting materials.

· Countermeasures lamps - sapphire flash lamps are used in IRCM's (Infra red countermeasures). The high temperature performance of sapphire combines with broad spectral range in this application.

Analytical applications: Sapphire is used in analytical applications where combinations of high temperature, pressure, and hydrofluoric acid species are encountered. These applications need the survivability of sapphire, while often needing other properties such as favourable UV (ultraviolet) or IR (infrared) transmission.

· NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) tubes. Sapphire is used for very high-pressure applications in replacement of glass or quartz tubes.

· Sample preparation - sapphire is used in digestion cells as sheaths and liners. When hydrofluoric acid is used, sapphire replaces quartz components.

· Analytical chemistry - for mass spectroscopy, ICAP, and other systems, sapphire replaces quartware to improve durability and reduce contamination while offering good UV transmission.

Medical applications: Sapphire is used in surgical systems for laser transmission and in contact with body fluids.

· Surgical tips - sapphire is used in contact tips for various surgical laser applications

· Endoscope lenses - sapphire is often used in endoscope lenses due to its durability in contact with tissues and in sterilisation environments such as autoclaving

· Sapphire knives - with a sapphire knife, thinner sections are possible. The near perfect cutting edge of this knife / blade gives distortion-free sections down to 10 microns thick.

Optical applications: Sapphire is used for short and long wavelength applications UV and IR) beyond the range where conventional optics performs adequately. High temperatures and hostile environments also necessitate the use of sapphire optics.

· Illumination windows - for very high brightness illumination, sapphire windows survive the very high heat while providing the broadest spectral transmission.

· Sapphire lightguides - sapphire rods and used in high temperature thermometry beyond the range of quartz optics.

· Optical components: lenses, prisms and other laser and infrared optics are fabricated from high optical quality sapphire.

Watch industry: Sapphire is widely used for the watch glasses. The world demand in watch industry centres on scratchproof sapphire watch crystals. However, besides traditional flat shapes, crystals with spherical and cylindrical curves are also in great demand