Fused Silica With Precision Holes: Fused Silica (CTE 0.55 x 10^-6 /K, 185 nm – 2.5 um); position +/-0.02 mm, diameter from 0.15 mm. Single-piece prototypes to production volumes, quoted from your drawing.
Buyers come to fused silica with precision holes with two kinds of parts: catalog-adjacent blanks that need accurate finishing, and genuinely custom geometry. We quote both from the same dataset – JGS1 (UV), JGS2 (standard), JGS3 (IR) stock in 0.10 – 50 mm, blanks to 450 x 450 mm.
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 |
| Feature | Precision Holes |
| Capability | position +/-0.02 mm, diameter from 0.15 mm |
| RFQ inputs | PDF/DXF/STEP drawing, quantity brackets, surface and edge spec |
What the process holds
Beyond this page, Fused Silica routinely runs through laser cutting, grinding, etching, lapping in our shop – most real parts combine two or three of these steps.
These features are produced by drilling or laser cutting. Capability: position +/-0.02 mm, diameter from 0.15 mm. Design rule worth copying onto the drawing: keep hole-to-edge distance above 1.5x thickness.
Design guidance
The shop-floor rules that matter here:
- Material note: its hardness and brittleness demand diamond tooling and controlled feeds.
- Feature rule: keep hole-to-edge distance above 1.5x thickness.
- 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.
Application context
Orders for fused silica with precision holes cluster in optical sensors (sensor windows, filter caps, lens covers); aerospace optics (sensor windows, star-tracker flats, radiation-tolerant ports); medical diagnostics (flow cells, slides, microplate bottoms, cuvette windows). 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 wafer dicing process, fused silica material guide, ITO coated glass.
Common questions
Is there a minimum order for fused silica with precision holes?
No. Single prototypes are accepted, and pricing steps down at 10, 100 and 1,000 pieces.
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 September 2026.