Quartz Glass
Synthetic Fused Silica with UV-Quality for Optics
Special Properties
- Excellent transmission of ultraviolet light
- Extremely high operating temperature of up to 1000 °C
- High thermal shock resistance
- Low coefficient of thermal expansion
- High-purity glass composition
- Very high chemical strength
- Crystal clear appearance
- Low fluorescence
- Excellent electrical properties
- Chemically inert
- Produced by melting the purest quartz raw material
Typical Applications
- UV-transparent quartz glass optics
- Deep-UV applications (DUV)
- Quartz wafers for the semiconductor industry
- Substrate glasses for mirror coatings
- Quartz glass optics for ultraviolet laser use
- UV-measuring instruments
- Quartz microscope slides and coverslips for medical applications
- Industrial quartz components
- High-temperature applications with optical requirements
- Optics that require high chemical resistance
- Space applications
Get a price quote for
Quartz Glass
48-hour express-service possible*
Optical Quartz Glass is Synthetic Fused Silica
Quartz glass for optics is made of high purity synthetic molten quartz. This type of material is also known as "Fused Silica". The crystal clear amorphous silicon dioxide material contains only silicon and oxygen and almost no impurities. Only such unique quartz glass grades offer an excellent transmission for deep UV-light, which is already well over 80% at a wavelength of 185 nm.
The enormous operating temperature range and the high thermal load capacity of quartz glass are unparalleled. The glass can operate permanently at up to 1000 °C and is highly resistant to thermal shock. These excellent properties are possible due to the low thermal expansion of quartz glass.
As well, the chemical resistance of this unique material is remarkable. Quartz glass is particularly resistant to saline solutions, acids, and water. The chemical strength of quartz glass to bases surpasses almost all other glass materials.
Exceptional electrical properties make quartz glass ideal for applications in semiconductor technology. Currents can only flow through moving ionic impurities, and such contamination is marginal in quartz glass. Therefore the material has minimal conductivity and offers a very high electrical insulation resistance, which is essential for numerous electronics and semiconductor applications.
Quartz Glass Optics
We fabricate custom optics of quartz glass mainly from large blocks, the so-called boules. If necessary, we can select the raw glass concerning a low number of inclusions and bubbles. Also, an index homogeneity down to ≤ 0,5 ppm is available if this parameter represents a critical requirement for your application.
The first step to produce an optic from a boule is cutting the required material out of the quartz glass block. After this process, the quartz glass is shaped, finely ground, and polished according to the respective requirements. In this way, our company fabricates UV-transparent substrate glasses, quartz glass wafers, microscope slides, laser components, and many other optical quartz glass items every day.
How to get a price quote
To receive a quotation for windows, substrates, or other parts made optical quartz glass for UV-applications with individual dimensions, please select a thickness from the table in the specifications or use the following button.
Get a price quote for
Quartz Glass
48-hour express-service possible*
Specifications & Properties
Transmittance spectrum of synthetic
Fused Silica in the UV to IR range
Glass thicknesses
As optical quartz glass is a block glass, there are no standard thicknesses. Consequently, the glass thickness needs to be specified individually. To offer our customers high availability and the best possible service, we continually grind and polish to the following quartz glass thicknesses, which are available quickly. You can even order these within our 48-hour express-service:
Please click on a glass thickness to make a request:
Glass Thickness (mm) |
Tolerance |
|
|---|---|---|
| 0,50 | ±0,050 | ✔ |
| 1,00 | ±0,100 | ✔ |
| 2,00 | ±0,150 | ✔ |
| 3,00 | ±0,100 | ✔ |
| Please request other thicknesses individually. | ||
| *The quartz glass thicknesses marked with "✔" are available in 48-hour express-service. | ||
Ultraviolet Transmission Properties
- T > 80% at 185 nm
(UV-grade optical quartz glass material = fused silica)
Refractive Index
- nd = 1,4585
Density
- 2,20 g/cm3
Young's Modulus
- 74 GPa (typical value)
Homogeneity
- Homogeneity grades per inquiry
- Index homogeneities of the optical UV-grade quartz glass materials down to ≤ 0,5 ppm are possible on demand.
Inclusion Classes
- Inclusion class information on request
Glass Composition
- Silicon dioxide (SiO2)
Average Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
- ≈ 0,57 x 10-6/K
Viscosity
- Softening point approximately 1585 °C
- Annealing point approximately 1042 °C
- Strain point approximately 893 °C
Dielectric Constant
- εr: 3,9 (500 MHz)
Fused Quartz Glass for Industrial Sight Glass Applications
Besides the fused silica grades described before, we also process less sophisticated quartz glass materials for high-temperature applications in the industry, requiring only sight glass functionality. Since the inner material quality and the deep-UV transparency are of secondary concern in those cases, the less expensive "Fused Quartz" is the best choice for the fabrication of such items. Unlike Fused Silica, these quartz glass grades are made by melting natural quartz crystals instead of the high purity synthetic quartz raw material. Hence, these glass materials are not as pure as fused silica. They contain more contaminants and can't offer this high material quality, homogeneity, and optical performance Fused Silica does.
Consequently, these quartz glass types are typically used for less demanding applications. Nevertheless, they have an almost identical coefficient of expansion, a similar high-temperature resistance, and nearly the same thermal shock resistance as the optical quality glass materials. Fused quartz also features virtually the same chemical strength as Fused Silica. It still offers better UV-transparency than most other glass types and the same crystal clear appearance as optical grade quartz glass.
Fused quartz glass is significantly more economical than the High-End types of quartz glass. Hence, this material is the best choice for fabricating heat-resistant sight glasses, lamp housings, UV lighting systems, transparent furnace panes, and other industrial quartz glass parts. You can find further information, specifications, and properties of this quartz glass type in our "Fused Quartz" spec-sheet.
Our company processes quartz glass materials from all leading manufacturers in the quartz glass industry (Corning, Heraeus, Tosoh, SCHOTT, Saint Gobain Quartz, Shin-Etsu, GE Quartz, and many others). Please contact us for detailed specifications and information about the quartz glass qualities we supply.
All given details and specifications are mean reference values and are not guaranteed. Also, please consider the "Notes on technical specifications".
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Last update 10.12.2020