Mixing the material: Synthetic Ruby is made from two materials, alumina oxide and chromium oxide. Both have low health risk, but precaution should be made not to inhale the fine powders. I have tested with 90% alumina oxide and 10 % chromium oxide. Also as low as 5% chromium oxide. I mix small portions and I get great results. Just mix the two with a small stick, cover and set aside.
2
Eching the tile
For this you need to make a jig to hold the tile in place so that the registration will be very accurate. I burn slow and at full power. Lettering, spirals, etc. I use air assist to remove the excess ceramic coating.
3
Adding the powder ontop of the tile
I just put about 1mm (1/16") of the powder on the spiral pattern flatten it down, turn off the air assist, set the tile back in place and start the burn over.
The rubies are very small .1mm but there are millions of them produced in a square the size of a postage stamp. I will try to fill an old photo flash: ( Pack them around the xenon tube ) with about a teaspoon of them and see what effect should be very spectacular. Also I need to try making them under a glass dish in a vacuum.
Long before LED lasers were commonplace, or even before you could get a He:Ne laser, I was a ruby laser fan. I was just like 10 years old at the time, I remember wondering how I could get a ruby and make my own laser. Wonder if this could work?
The rubies are very small .1mm but there are millions of them produced in a square the size of a postage stamp. I will try to fill an old photo flash: ( Pack them around the xenon tube ) with about a teaspoon of them and see what effect should be very spectacular. Also I need to try making them under a glass dish in a vacuum.