Properties and Applications of Fused Silica/Quartz Glass

Background

Goodfellow Ceramic & Glass Division are an award-winning company who supply specialist glass and ceramics for scientific and industrial use.

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Goodfellow Ceramic & Glass Division aim is to understand your application and then supply the most appropriate materials or components to meet your needs.

Our technical staff are qualified in glass technology and materials science and can, therefore, provide impartial advice and full technical support for your projects.

Quartz Glass

Quartz glass is an extremely versatile material used in a range of different applications. It has outstanding thermal properties, excellent optical transmission, with good electrical and corrosion performance.

Production of Fused Silica or Quartz Glass

There are two basic ways of making quartz / silica glass:

• By melting silica grains either by gas or electrical heating (the type of heating affects some optical properties). This material can be transparent or, for some applications, opaque.
• By synthesising the glass from chemicals

The Difference between Fused Silica and Quartz Glass

This synthetic material, normally referred to as synthetic fused silica, has better optical properties and is somewhat more expensive than the other type.

In the UK, terms such as quartz, silica, fused quartz and fused silica tend to be used interchangeably. In the USA, quartz refers to material melted from grains, silica refers to the synthetic material.

Advantages of Fused Silica/Quartz Glass

The advantages of fused silica or quartz glass include:

• Incredibly thermally shock resistant (can be taken from red heat and plunged into water without cracking)
• Low coefficient of thermal expansion
• Optical transmission properties from ultra violet to infra red
• Good chemical resistance
• Excellent electrical insulator

Applications of Fused Silica/Quartz Glass

Applications Applications of fused silica/quartz glass include:

• Windows
• Lenses
• Mirror substrates
• Crucibles, trays and boats
• UV transmitting optics (synthetic fused silica)
• IR transmitting optics
• Metrology components

Properties of Fused Silica/Quartz Glass

Table 1. Typical properties of fused silica/quartz glass.

  Property Units Value General Chemical Formula n/a SiO2 Density g/cm3 2.23 Mechanical Design Tensile Strength MPa 48 Design Compressive strength MPa Young's Modulus GPa 72 Thermal Max. Use Temperature °C 950- Thermal Conductivity W/m.K 1.4 Co-Efficient of Linear Expansion 10-6/°C 0.55 Electrical Volume Resistance Ù.cm Dielectric Constant   3.7 Dielectric Strength kV/mm 40

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Figure 1. Transmission curve for 10mm thick fused silica/quartz glass (including surface reflection losses).

Properties of fused silica/quartz glass shown are typical values, they are not absolute material properties, and should be used for guidance only. It is recommended that materials and components are tested for their suitability for a specific application.

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Goodfellow Ceramic & Glass Division.

For more information on this source, please visit Goodfellow Ceramic & Glass Division.

Silicon Dioxide &#; Glass &#; Quartz &#; Fused Silica

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) is the simplest chemical composition of glass. Quartz is the most stable crystal modification at normal temperature and pressure conditions. Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the earth's crust. Glass (from &#;glasa&#;, Germanic for amber, the shiny or shimmery) also consists of silicon and oxide, but is a uniform amorphous solid material. Many glass varieties are clear and transparent respectively. This means transmissibility for the visible spectrum of light. In general, such material is associated with the term glass. Transparent materials allow light to pass through them without diffusing (scattering) the light.

Most common types of glass

At least years ago humans learned how to lower the glass softening temperatures by adding lime and soda before heating, which resulted in a glass containing sodium and calcium oxide.

Glass &#; Additives and the industrial use of glass

The use of glass as one of the oldest, but also very important materials for the industry is linked with the application of additives. Chemicals like soda (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3) and in the past also potash (potassium carbonate, K2CO3), manganese oxide and metal oxides influence the properties of glass. Manufactured glass is a material formed by heating a mixture of sand, soda and lime to a high temperature and stays in a molten, liquid state. Glass can be made from pure silica, but quartz glass (also referred as quartz) has a high glass transition point at around °C, which makes it difficult to form into panes or bottles.

Quartz glass is the purest form of SiO2 and therefore the most valuable and sophisticated variety. Extremely clear glass can be used for optical fibers. Therefore synthetic quartz glass is used to transmit light across many kilometers. Many glasses block ultraviolet radiation, but only pure fused silica (only SiO2) is transparent for wavelengths < 350 nm (UV). Quartz glass also exists as an opaque variety and with different coloration to change the physical and chemical properties like transmission or absorption for specific wavelengths (filter glass). The opaque material at Heraeus, OM® 100, is also used as a heat barrier or for diffuse scattering of IR radiation.

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