The raw materials are cheap, but growing crystals of SiC isn't easy, and it took quite a long time to work out the growth processes. It helps that it's more or

The raw materials are cheap, but growing crystals of SiC isn't easy, and it took quite a long time to work out the growth processes. It helps that it's more or less conventional crystal growth and doesn't require super high pressure, as does one of the two main ways of growing diamond. Here's a presentation on some aspects of growing silicon carbide (which in its low-defect state is clear & colorless, i.e., Moissonite) [1]. One thing to note is that growth temperatures exceed 2000°C - that's difficult territory for engineering apparatus that's both reliable and cheap. A lot of the impetus for high quality SiC growth came from developing it for super high power FETs and other power switching semiconductors. That growth tech bled over into gem SiC growth. [1] http://www.leb.eei.uni-erlangen.de/winterakademie/2005/results/Presentations/SiC_Bulk_Growth.pdf http://www.leb.eei.uni-erlangen.de/winterakademie/2005/resul...