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Glass Wafers

Wafers fabricated from technical and optical glass

Typical Applications

  • Glass wafers for anodic bonding with silicon wafers
  • Microlithography applications
  • Optical substrates
  • Manufacturing of micro-optics
  • Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
  • Glass substrates for electronic circuits
  • Semiconductor technology
  • Wafers for micro-structuring applications
  • Laser-assisted glass wafer metallization
  • Fabrication of wafer-level optics
  • Replacement for PYREX® wafers
  • Electronic packaging

We regularly manufacture polished glass wafers of borosilicate glass like BOROFLOAT® or MEMpax® from SCHOTT for the semiconductor industry. Both materials have nearly the same thermal expansion coefficient as PYREX 7740 rolled sheet material, which CORNING discontinued many years ago, and represent ideal replacement materials. Such borosilicate glass wafers are often used for anodic bonding processes of glass with silicon, as these materials' thermal expansion is similar to silicon's CTE.

Besides the borosilicate glass wafers mentioned before, we produce wafers based on low-alkali or alkali-free glass materials like AF 32® eco, 1737F, EAGLE 2000, and AF 45. Moreover, our wafer fabrication program includes wafers from optical glasses like BK7, UV-grade Fused Silica, or quartz glass. Furthermore, we fabricate glass wafers from premium thin and ultra-thin materials like AS 87 eco, D 263 T, and our low-cost, selected float glass. Please find an overview of the glass materials we use to produce glass wafers on this website, below the heading "Standard Glass Wafers".

Typical glass wafer shape

Borofloat glass wafer

The picture above shows a double side polished round glass wafer made of borosilicate glass. Such glass wafers are typically used for anodic bonding with silicon wafers in semiconductor and MEMS applications.

Our wafers have either polished or high-quality fire-polished surfaces, depending on the version and material. Fire-polished glass wafers usually offer an even lower surface roughness and better smoothness than mechanically polished glass materials. The standard glass wafers provide excellent flatness and high surface quality, which for fire-polished glass materials ultimately directly depends on the raw glass's properties and precision. However, they often offer comparable or even better surfaces than those achievable with a standard mechanical glass polishing process. Hence, numerous MEMS and micro-optical applications are based on these glass wafers. For some thin and ultra-thin glasses, the so-called packaging of optoelectronic semiconductors is a common application. Moreover, these unique glass materials allow for many applications in science and research.

We also manufacture glass wafers for moderate requirements that use economically priced glass types, like our selected float glass. This glass is an ideal solution for fabricating so-called dummy wafers. Such glass wafers can lead to significant cost savings and are also part of our daily production.

Our standard glass wafers can have SEMI-standard flats, known from silicon wafers typically used to fabricate semiconductors. In addition to the specifications listed in this datasheet, we have the technology and capabilities for the precision fabrication of custom glass wafers with a lower total thickness variation (TTV) and increased surface quality or custom polishing finishes. Of course, CNC-machining of custom dimensions and shapes is part of our manufacturing capabilities. Specific CNC machining steps and a customized configuration design are possible at sufficiently large production quantities. We can also perform customer-specific edge form processing and apply notches in mass production. Please contact us if you have any questions about our glass-wafer manufacturing capabilities.

Please use our inquiry form to request a quotation for your glass wafers made of borosilicate or any other glass material based on a custom design. Alternatively, ask for an offer for our regularly obtainable glass wafers listed on this website. Just click on one of the possible wafer thicknesses in the table to initiate the RFQ process.

 

To send an inquiry about a custom-machined glass wafer not listed in the table, please click the following button.

 

Request for quotation for
custom glass wafers

 

Standard Glass Wafers

The following wafers are available at almost any time in all standard millimeter and inch diameters, usually even as part of our 48-hour express optics service.


Wafer Glass Materials

and Standard Thicknesses

Wafers, CNC-precision-cut, without bevel:

If required, a cut SEMI-standard flat is possible (please specify if needed). The TTV and surface quality depend on the selected material:

Possible diameters in this version
(unless otherwise stated)

  • 50 mm / 2" (= 50,8 mm)
  • 75 mm / 3" (= 76,2 mm)
  • 100 mm / 4" (= 101,6 mm)
  • 150 mm / 6" (= 152,4 mm)
  • 200 mm / 8" (= 203,2 mm)
  • 300 mm / 12" (= 304,8 mm)
  • Custom diameters

Click on a glass thickness to request a quote:

Thickness
(mm)

Nominal thickness
tolerance
(mm)

48h-Express Service
Wafer made of AF 32® eco
Alkali-free glass from SCHOTT
0,10 ±0,015 -
0,20 ±0,020
0,30 ±0,020
0,40 ±0,020
0,50 ±0,300
Wafer made of AF 45
Alkali-free modified borosilicate glass from SCHOTT
0,70 ±0,050
Wafer made of AS 87 eco
Ultra-thin aluminosilicate glass from SCHOTT
0,175 ±0,010
Wafer made of BK7
Optical glass from SCHOTT
1,00 ±0,100
1,00 ±0,025
  • Double-side optically polished
  • Maximum diameter of 200 mm
Wafer made of BOROFLOAT® 33
Borosilicate glass from SCHOTT
0,70 ±0,05
1,10 ±0,05
Wafer made of D 263 T
Ultra-thin borosilicate display glass from SCHOTT
0,175 ±0,015
0,210 ±0,020
0,300 ±0,020
0,400 ±0,020
0,550 ±0,050
0,700 ±0,050
1,100 ±0,050
Wafer made of EAGLE XG®
Alkali-free boro-alumino-silicate glass from CORNING
0,30 ±0,02
0,70 ±0,02
1,10 ±0,02
Wafer made of EAGLE2000
Alkali-free glass from CORNING
0,700 ±0,070
1,100 ±0,100
Wafer made of 1737F
Alkali-free boro-aluminosilicate glass from CORNING
0,700 ±0,070
1,100 ±0,100
Wafer made of MEMpax®
Borosilicate thin glass from SCHOTT
(replacement for PYREX® wafers)
0,200 ±0,012
0,300 ±0,012
0,400 ±0,015
0,500 ±0,018
(Max. diameter: 200 mm or 8")
Wafer made of selected float glass
Iron-reduced display-grade soda-lime glass
0,40 ±0,05
0,55 ±0,05
0,70 ±0,05
0,95 ±0,05
1,00 ±0,10
Wafer made of UV-grade quartz glass
Optical quartz glass (Fused Silica)
0,175 ±0,020
0,300 ±0,025
0,300 ±0,050
0,500 ±0,025
0,500 ±0,050
1,000 ±0,025
1,000 ±0,10
  • Double-side optically polished
  • Transmission > 80 % already at 185 nm
  • Maximum diameter of 125 mm
    (150 mm if no flat is required)
  • Material: optical grade Fused Silica

Wafer made of ITO-coated glass
Conductive and transparent layers on various glass materials:

The thicknesses marked with "" are also available within 48–hour express service.

Glass wafers optically polished on both sides

Generally, all glasses can be additionally polished on both sides if desired and when the production quantities are sufficiently large. However, this is only sometimes advantageous because almost all the glasses we process already have high optical quality. Wafer notches are also possible at reasonable production quantities. The glass wafers below have an additional, high-quality, double-sided optical polishing finish.

Please also consider using our standard 100 mm diameter polished glass wafers made of BOROFLOAT®, which are always available and listed below. This material is ideally suited to replace wafers made from PYREX® raw material.

Double Side Polished Wafers,
with a ground and C-shaped edge:

Possible diameters in this version

  • 50 mm / 2" (= 50,8 mm)
  • 75 mm / 3" (= 76,2 mm)
  • 100 mm / 4" (= 101,6 mm)
  • 150 mm / 6" (= 152,4 mm)
  • 200 mm / 8" (= 203,2 mm)
  • 300 mm / 12" (= 304,8 mm)
  • Custom diameters

Glass wafers made of BOROFLOAT®, double-side optically polished, and nearly always available:

  • ø 100 mm (+/-0,2)
  • Total thickness variation (TTV) < 10 μm
  • Surface quality better than 60-40 s&d
  • Ground SEMI-standard Flat 32,5 mm (+/-1,0)

Thickness
(mm)

Nominal thickness
tolerance
(mm)

48h-Express Service
0,500 ±0,025
0,525 ±0,025
0,700 ±0,025
Total thickness variation down to < 3 µm is available on request.
The thicknesses marked with "" are also available within 48–hour express service.

Of course, other precision CNC-machining and polishing options are feasible for all precision glass wafers in batch quantities. Please request if the glass wafers above don't meet your MEMS, silicon, or semiconductor packaging requirements or if your applications require a unique design, sophisticated polishing finish, increased flatness, a lower TTV, or another type of material.

 

Request custom-polished wafers

 

All given details and specifications are mean reference values and are not guaranteed. Also, please consider our "Notes on technical specifications".

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Last update: 15.09.2023