Glass Wafers

Typical Applications

• Glass wafers for anodic bonding with silicon
• Microlithography applications
• Wafer glass for semiconductor technology
• Optical substrates
• Substrate for micro-optics
• Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
• Glass substrates for electronic circuits
• Wafers for micro-structuring applications
• Replacement for PYREX^® wafers
• Electronic packaging

We regularly manufacture polished glass wafers made 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, which CORNING discontinued many years ago. They represent high-quality replacement materials for PYREX^®. Such borosilicate glass wafers are often used for the 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, wafers from optical glasses like BK7, UV-grade Fused Silica, or quartz glass are part of our wafer manufacturing program. Furthermore, we fabricate glass wafers from quality thin and ultra-thin glass materials like AS 87 eco, D 263 T, and our low-cost selected float glass materials. Please find an overview of the glass materials we use to produce glass wafers on this website under the heading "Standard Glass Wafers".

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

Our wafers have either polished or high-quality fire-polished surfaces, depending on the version. The fire-polished glass wafers frequently offer lower micro-roughness and better smoothness than mechanically polished glass materials.

Our standard glass wafers usually provide excellent flatness and surface quality, which for fire-polished glass materials ultimately directly depend on the raw glass's properties and precision. However, they are often comparable to or even better than achievable with a standard mechanical glass polishing process. Hence, numerous MEMS and micro-optical applications are based on these precision glass wafers. For some thin and ultra-thin glasses, the packaging of optoelectronic semiconductors is a common application. Furthermore, these unique, high-quality glass materials allow many applications in science and research.

We also manufacture glass wafers for moderate requirements that use more economically priced glass types, like our selected float glass. This glass is often an ideal solution for manufacturing 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 often 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 carry out customer-specific edge form processing in mass production and apply notches. Please contact us if you have any queries 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 shown to initiate the RFQ process.

 

To send an inquiry about a custom-machined glass wafer you haven't found in the table, please click on 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 48h-Express Optics Service.

Wafer Glass Materials

and Standard Thicknesses

Wafers, CNC-precision-cut, without bevel: If required, with SEMI-standard-flat (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 glass thickness to request a quote:
Thickness (mm)	Nominal thickness tolerance (mm)
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 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 high-quality 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)
0,50	±0,05	✔
1,00	±0,10	✔
Double side optically polished Transmission > 80 % already at 185 nm Maximum diameter of 125 mm (150 mm if no flat required) Material optical grade Fused Silica
Wafer made of ITO-coated glass Conductive and transparent layers on various glass materials: Various glass substrates & sheet resistances Thickness: 0,175 to 1,10 mm (Please select an available thickness from the table of available ITO-glass materials) ✔
The thicknesses marked with "✔" are also available within 48–h 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 not always advantageous because almost all the glasses we process already have high optical quality. Wafer notches are also possible at reasonable production quantities. The following glass wafers 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 from the no longer available PYREX®.

Double Side Polished Wafers, 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)
0,500	±0,015	✔
0,525	±0,020	✔
0,700	±0,020	✔
Total thickness variation down to < 3 µm is available on request.
The thicknesses marked with "✔" are also available within 48–h Express Service.

Of course, other precision CNC-machining and polishing options are feasible for all precision glass wafers in batch quantities. Please send a request if the glass wafers above don't meet your MEMS, silicon, or semiconductor process requirements or if your application requires a unique design, sophisticated polishing finish, an increased flatness, 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 28.02.2022