PROCESS FOR HEAT TREATING A SAPPHIRE COMPONENT

A system and processes for heat treating sapphire components to improve strength while maintaining the optical finish and/or transparency of the component. The processes may include an annealing process that uses an inert gas to reduce potential contaminants and the presence of reactive gasses. The process may also include a multi-stage heating process that may reduce thermally induced stress within the sapphire component which may produce slip lines or other optical defects. The process may also include a series of wet ultrasonic cleaning operations that reduce potential contaminants which may cause optical defects in an annealed sapphire component. An example system, fixtures, and shields are also described, which may improve the quality of the heat-treating process.