YEREVAN. - Synthetic sapphires from Armenia can appear in the U.S. defense market.
General Director of High-temperature Crystals LLC, Levon Hovhannisyan, who took part in the ''Made in Armenia'' exhibition in Yerevan, told the aforementioned to Armenian News – NEWS.am.
According to him, Rubicon Technology, a U.S. company dealing with cultivating artificial crystals, turned to him several years ago with an order to make special purpose windows from synthetic sapphire. But they couldn't then make lists with the needed surface.
''We cultivate crystals horizontally, by the method of our compatriot, Soviet scientist Khachatur Bagdasarov, whose student I am. Each method has its advantages. This method helps get crystals in the form of a plate, with quite big surface and good quality, without bubbles. Unfortunately, I didn't have my own company then, but now I want to recall the Americans about the possibility to cooperate,'' Hovhannisayn said.
The company, which was established this year, has recently got a permit to work in Yerevan's free economic zone 'Alliance', getting exempted from most taxes.
''It is regretful that after the fall of the USSR, the synthetic sapphires and corundum were left behind. It is twice regretful since Armenia was one of the key centers of the Union by its crystals and optics. We had such leading figures as Ter-Mikayelyan, Harutyunyan and Bagdasarov. The Kirovakan chemical plant was one of the largest manufacturers of synthetic crystals in the Union. We had a plant in Nor Hachn, which processed those crystals. Unfortunately, this industry wasn't developed in Armenia in the 90s, since those technologies didn't go to naught, but are developing. They are applied more frequently in the global industry, for instance for making the same glasses for i-phones. China initiated the cultivation of crystals only 10 years ago, and now it is their largest manufacturer in the world. And we, with our previous technologies... Colleagues from China tell me: ''Come, let's open a business and you'll become a co-owner.'' But I know what will happen: They will learn the entire technology and I will prove to be redundant. I'd better create something in my country,'' Hovhannisyan said.
