Dicing Fused Silica Wafers: Fused Silica (CTE 0.55 x 10^-6 /K, 185 nm – 2.5 um); Dicing to +/-0.01 mm index accuracy. Single-piece prototypes to production volumes, quoted from your drawing.
dicing fused silica wafers is a materials problem before it is a machining problem. Fused Silica has near-zero thermal expansion and a Knoop hardness of 500 kg/mm2, so the dicing recipe – feeds, coolant, tooling – differs from what works on ordinary float glass. The line runs automatic dicing saws with resin and metal-bond blades and holds +/-0.01 mm index accuracy.
Key parameters
| Material | Fused Silica (JGS1 (UV), JGS2 (standard), JGS3 (IR)) |
|---|---|
| Thermal expansion (CTE) | 0.55 x 10^-6 /K |
| Service temperature | 1,100 C continuous |
| Transmission range | 185 nm – 2.5 um |
| Density | 2.20 g/cm3 |
| Knoop hardness | 500 kg/mm2 |
| Refractive index | 1.458 @ 587 nm |
| Stock thickness | 0.10 – 50 mm |
| Maximum blank size | 450 x 450 mm |
| Process | Dicing |
| Working tolerance | +/-0.01 mm index accuracy |
| Minimum feature | 30 um kerf |
| Surface finish | edge chipping under 15 um |
| Thickness window | 0.05 – 3 mm |
| Edge condition | saw edge, optional etch relief |
| Wafer formats | 2", 3", 4", 6", 8" and 12" with SEMI flats or notch |
| TTV | under 3 – 5 um by format |
| RFQ inputs | PDF/DXF/STEP drawing, quantity brackets, surface and edge spec |
Design guidance
The shop-floor rules that matter here:
- Material note: its hardness and brittleness demand diamond tooling and controlled feeds.
- Process boundary: straight-line cuts only; contours route to laser cutting instead.
- Over-specification is the quiet budget killer: a 20/10 scratch-dig face costs roughly three times an 80/50 face, so grade each surface individually.
The full rules live in our tolerance design guide and holes and edges design guide.
Capabilities and limits
The core strength of Dicing is singulating wafers into dies with tight index accuracy and low chipping. The honest limit: straight-line cuts only; contours route to laser cutting instead. Both belong on the drawing before quoting, not after.
One material, many routes: on Fused Silica we also quote grinding, coring, lapping, laser cutting, and multi-step drawings are the norm rather than the exception.
Typical applications
Orders for dicing fused silica wafers cluster in scientific instruments (reference flats, cells, prism mounts, stage inserts); semiconductor equipment (view ports, wafer carriers, plasma rings, chamber windows); microfluidic devices (chips, manifolds, via plates, bonded stacks). Background reading on the underlying material science: RP Photonics: fused silica.
The fastest route to a quote is geometry: use the 3D builder below, draw a dimensioned 2D drawing from it, or open the site-wide custom glass machining 3D + 2D builder for fully custom parts.
Engineers scoping this work usually also review CNC machining capability, fused silica wafers 2-12 inch, infrared windows.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can prototypes ship?
Machined prototypes ship in 5 – 10 working days. Coated or bonded parts add 1 – 2 weeks depending on queue slots.
What files do you need for a quote?
A dimensioned PDF plus DXF or STEP geometry. If only a sketch exists, our drawing review service formalizes it before quoting.
Do parts ship with inspection data?
Dimensional reports, surface certificates and material certs per melt are available; specify the level on the RFQ.
What tolerances are achievable on Fused Silica parts?
Ground features hold +/-0.01 mm and lapped thickness reaches +/-0.003 mm. Its hardness and brittleness demand diamond tooling and controlled feeds.
What thickness range do you stock for Fused Silica?
Standard stock spans 0.10 – 50 mm, with blanks up to 450 x 450 mm. Other formats are sourced per order.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in October 2026.