Quartz Glass

Special Properties

• Excellent transmission of ultraviolet light
• Extremely heat resistant
• Operating temperature up to 1000 °C
• Very high thermal shock resistance
• Low coefficient of thermal expansion
• High-purity glass composition
• Outstanding chemical strength
• Crystal clear water-white appearance
• Low fluorescence
• High electrical insulation resistance
• Chemically inert
• Made by a flame hydrolysis process

Typical Applications

• UV-transparent quartz glass windows
• Deep-UV applications (DUV)
• Quartz glass wafers for semiconductor technology
• Substrate glasses for High-End mirror coatings
• Quartz optics for ultraviolet laser use
• UV-measuring instruments
• Quartz microscope slides and coverslips for medical applications
• Industrial quartz components
• High-temperature applications
• Glass parts with high chemical resistance
• Laboratory equipment
• 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 bases on high-purity synthetic quartz called fused silica, produced by a flame hydrolysis process. The crystal-clear amorphous silicon dioxide glass material contains only silicon and oxygen and is virtually free of impurities. Only such unique quartz glass qualities offer this high transmission for deep UV-light, which is greater than 80% at a wavelength as low as 185 nm.

The enormous operating temperature range and the high thermal load capacity of quartz glass are unparalleled. The pure silicon dioxide glass can work permanently at up to 1000 °C and is highly resistant to thermal shock. These excellent thermal properties are possible due to the low expansion coefficient of quartz glass. As well, the chemical durability 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 types.
Furthermore, exceptional electrical properties make quartz glass ideal for applications in semiconductor technology. As currents only flow through moving ionic impurities, and such contamination is marginal in quartz glass, the material has a low conductivity and a very high electrical insulation resistance. These characteristics are 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 for low numbers 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 quartz 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 of optical quartz glass for UV applications with individual dimensions, please select a thickness from the table 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

Enlarge view and show details

Glass thicknesses

Optical quartz glass is a block glass, so 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 glass thicknesses, which are available quickly. You can even order these within our 48-hour express service:

Please click on a glass thickness to start a request:

Glass Thickness (mm)	Tolerance
0,30	±0,050	✔
0,50	±0,030	✔
0,50	±0,050	✔
1,00	±0,025	✔
1,00	±0,100	✔
2,00	±0,150	✔
3,00	±0,100	✔
Other thicknesses per request.
*The quartz glass thicknesses marked with "✔" are available in 48-hour express service.

 

Light Transmission

• T > 80% at 185 nm
  (UV-grade optical quartz glass material = fused silica)

Refractive Index

• n_d = 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 options 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

• ε_r: 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 fabricating such items. Unlike fused silica, this quartz glass type is made by melting natural quartz crystals. Hence, fused quartz is not nearly as pure as fused silica. It contains far more contaminants and can't offer Fused Silica's high material purity, homogeneity, and optical properties.
Consequently, this quartz glass type is typically used for less demanding applications. It still has an almost identical coefficient of expansion, a similar heat resistance, and nearly the same thermal resistance as the optical quality glass materials. Fused quartz glass also features virtually the same chemical strength as Fused Silica. It still offers a better UV transparency than most other glass materials and the same crystal clear appearance as optical grade quartz glass.
Fused quartz glass is significantly more economical than High-End quartz glass used for optics. Hence, this material is the perfect choice for fabricating high-temperature sight glasses, lamp housings, UV-lighting systems, transparent furnace panes, and other industrial quartz glass parts. You can find further details, specifications, and properties of this quartz glass type in our "Fused Quartz Glass" spec sheet.

Please refer to our Quartz Glass FAQ page for help in selecting the appropriate quartz glass type for your application.

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). We are pleased to share detailed properties and information about the quartz glass qualities we supply on request.

 

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

© 1994 - 2021 Präzisions Glas & Optik GmbH

Last update 06.07.2021