GT Solar has introduced the ASF™100 advanced sapphire growth system, which increases yielded output of sapphire material by producing a larger, 100 kilogram sapphire boule in the same chamber as previous versions of the furnace.

According to Cheryl Diuguid, vice president and general manager of GT Solar’s sapphire equipment and materials group, “We have received an enthusiastic response from early adopter customers for our ASF sapphire growth systems as they enter the market to provide high quality sapphire material for the fast-growing LED industry. Our advanced sapphire crystallization systems are built on a highly scalable and reliable architecture that lets customers quickly ramp to volume production with a lower capital investment compared with other competing crystallization technologies.”

The ASF100 provides a highly automated, low risk operating environment, and produces consistently uniform sapphire boules that yield high quality material ideally suited for high brightness LED applications.

It’s said that the company has booked more than $450 million in orders from new entrants and existing sapphire producers Since the commercial introduction of the ASF system in the fall of 2010.