High tech crystal builder opens shop in Anderson

Building crystals: CEO of Shasta Crystals Gisele Maxwell stands by a machine used to mass produce optic-quality crystals.

Photo by Michael Woodward

ONE RUBY CRYSTAL: Gisele Maxwell holds one ruby crystal created at her new Anderson business, Shasta Crystals.

Whether used medically in laser eye surgery or in Mitsubishi's new 65" laser TV, the cost of the crystal needed to form the laser is costly. More disposable gadgets such as cell phones, lap tops and video game consoles are all waiting in the wings for cheaper crystals. When the crystal price is right, those devices could be outfitted to project images or display Power Point presentations on walls. That technology would have to wait until the crystals can be engineered cheaply.

New Anderson business Shasta Crystals claimed to have a solution.

"We've come up with a way to make them cost-effective for the industry," said Shasta Crystals CEO Gisele Maxwell, adding that her two patents on the production process make all the difference.

Instead of taking 6 weeks it now takes 2 hours, Maxwell said, comparing production times of the industry standard to her improved process. "It is 75 percent cheaper."

"This is a revolutionary approach to the crystal making process," said Redding business consultant Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy helped organize the Smart Business Resource Venture Island contest, where local business start-ups competed for funding and publicity. Shasta Crystals won second place, and McCarthy has worked with Shasta Crystals ever since.

"She's really a world-class crystal grower," McCarthy said. "She has a tremendous depth of knowledge in this field. She's applied this knowledge with the help of other scientists and significantly abbreviated the proccess."

Now a Cottonwood resident, Maxwell has earned a variety of acadmic degrees, including B.S. in chemistry, Masters in Materials Science, and a PhD in Physics. She came to the U.S. from France 12 years ago for post-doctorate study at Stanford University. She then found work in the crystal fabrication industry at Crystal Technologies, Inc. in Palo Alto.

Maxwell said she expects Shasta Crystals to begin production sometime this year, employing between 45 to 80 people.

The machine uses Laser Heated Pedestal Growth Method (LHPG), which involves passing a rod-shaped crystallizing seed material through the focal point of a laser. The intense heat melts the seed, which crystallizes upon cooling. The result is a single crystal fiber, such as the one held by Maxwell in the photo above.