Drilling Fused Silica Wafers: Fused Silica (CTE 0.55 x 10^-6 /K, 185 nm – 2.5 um); Drilling to +/-0.02 mm hole position. Single-piece prototypes to production volumes, quoted from your drawing.
We drill Fused Silica daily, in thicknesses from 0.1 – 30 mm. The controlling numbers: +/-0.02 mm hole position working tolerance, 0.15 mm laser / 0.5 mm mechanical minimum features, and exit-chip controlled below 0.1 mm off the machine. Where the drawing asks for more, downstream lapping and polishing take over.
Specifications at a glance
| 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 | Drilling |
| Working tolerance | +/-0.02 mm hole position |
| Minimum feature | 0.15 mm laser / 0.5 mm mechanical |
| Surface finish | exit-chip controlled below 0.1 mm |
| Thickness window | 0.1 – 30 mm |
| Edge condition | optional chamfered hole entry |
| 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 |
Capabilities and limits
The core strength of Drilling is through-holes, blind holes and countersinks at densities beyond 1,000 holes per part. The honest limit: hole-to-edge distance should stay above 1.5x thickness to protect strength. Both belong on the drawing before quoting, not after.
One material, many routes: on Fused Silica we also quote grinding, cnc machining, lapping, ultrasonic machining, and multi-step drawings are the norm rather than the exception.
DFM notes from the shop floor
The shop-floor rules that matter here:
- Material note: its hardness and brittleness demand diamond tooling and controlled feeds.
- Process boundary: hole-to-edge distance should stay above 1.5x thickness to protect strength.
- 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.
Who orders this
Orders for drilling fused silica wafers cluster in mems devices (cap wafers, TGV substrates, motion-sensor lids); machine vision (camera windows, ring-light diffusers, calibration plates); microfluidic devices (chips, manifolds, via plates, bonded stacks). Background reading on the underlying material science: RP Photonics: fused silica.
Dimensions still moving? Configure this part live in the 3D + 2D builder below, or open the full custom glass machining 3D + 2D builder to start from a blank canvas.
Useful companion pages: fused silica wafers 2-12 inch, wafer dicing process, machining tolerance guide.
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.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in October 2026.