Laser-assisted sapphire fibers grow centimeters per minute, using a technique developed by V.

Laser-assisted sapphire fibers grow centimeters per minute, using a technique developed by V. Phomsakha and others at the University of South Florida (Tampa). The beam from a CO2 laser is manipulated and focused onto the pedestal on which the fiber grows. When helium gas is used in the growth chamber, the heated-pedestal system provides single-crystal sapphire growth at rates as fast as 2 cm/min. (Rev. Sci. Instrum., Dec. 1994)