Verneuil Process - Process

Process

One of the most crucial factors in successfully crystallising an artificial gemstone is obtaining highly pure starting material, with at least 99.9995% purity. In the case of manufacturing rubies or sapphires, this material is alumina. The presence of sodium impurities is especially undesirable, as it makes the crystal opaque. Depending on the desired colouration of the crystal, small quantities of various oxides are added, such as chromium oxide for a red ruby, or ferric oxide and titania for a blue sapphire. Other starting materials include titania for producing rutile, or titanyl double oxalate for producing strontium titanate. Alternatively, small, valueless crystals of the desired product can be used.

This starting material is finely powdered, and placed in a container within a Verneuil furnace, with an opening at the bottom through which the powder can escape when the container is vibrated. While the powder is being released, oxygen is supplied into the furnace, and travels with the powder down a narrow tube. This tube is located within a larger tube, into which hydrogen is supplied. At the point where the narrow tube opens into the larger one, combustion occurs, with a flame of at least 2000 °C (3,600 °F) at its core. As the powder passes through the flame, it melts into small droplets, which fall onto an earthen support rod placed below. The droplets gradually form a sinter cone on the rod, the tip of which is close enough to the core to remain liquid. It is at that tip that the seed crystal eventually forms. As more droplets fall onto the tip, a single crystal, called a boule, starts to form, and the support is slowly moved downward, allowing the base of the boule to crystallise, while its cap always remains liquid. The boule is formed in the shape of a tapered cylinder, with a diameter broadening away from the base and eventually remaining more or less constant. With a constant supply of powder and withdrawal of the support, very long cylindrical boules can be obtained. Once removed from the furnace and allowed to cool, the boule is split along its vertical axis to relieve internal pressure, otherwise the crystal will be prone to fracture when the stalk is broken due to a vertical parting plane.

When initially outlining the process, Verneuil specified a number of conditions crucial for good results. These include: a flame temperature that is not higher than necessary for fusion; always keeping the melted product in the same part of the oxyhydrogen flame; and reducing the point of contact between the melted product and support to as small an area as possible. The average commercially produced boule using the process is 13 mm (0.5 inches) in diameter and 25 to 50 mm (1 to 2 inches) long, weighing about 125 carats (25 g). The process can also be performed with a custom-oriented seed crystal to achieve a specific desired crystallographic orientation.

Crystals produced by the Verneuil process are chemically and physically equivalent to their naturally occurring counterparts, and strong magnification is usually required to distinguish between the two. One of the telltale characteristics of a Verneuil crystal is curved growth lines (curved striae) formed as the cylindrical boule grows upwards in an environment with a high thermal gradient; the equivalent lines in natural crystals are parallel. Another distinguishing feature is the common presence of microscopic gas bubbles formed due to an excess of oxygen in the furnace; imperfections in natural crystals are usually solid impurities.