The Verneuil method (or Verneuil process or Verneuil technique), also called flame fusion, was the first commercially successful method of manufacturing synthetic gemstones, developed in the late 1883 [1] by the French chemist Auguste Verneuil. It is primarily used to produce the ruby, sapphire and padparadscha varieties of corundum, as well as the diamond simulants rutile, strontium titanate and spinel. The principle of the process involves melting a finely powdered substance using an oxyhydrogen flame, and crystallising the melted droplets into a boule. The process is considered to be the founding step of modern industrial crystal growth technology, and remains in wide use to this day.[2][3]
- ^ Verneuil, Auguste (20 February 1891). "The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science" [translated from the French Revue Générale des Sciences Pures et Appliquées vol 2, number 1, 15 January 1891]: 96.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Dobrovinskaya, Elena R.; Lytvynov, Leonid A.; Pishchik, Valerian (2009). Sapphire: Material, Manufacturing, Applications. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9780387856957.
- ^ Pelleg, Joshua (2016). "Diffusion in Alumina Single Crystals". Diffusion in Ceramics (PDF). Solid Mechanics and Its Applications. Vol. 221. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 113–177. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-18437-1_11. ISBN 978-3-319-18436-4.