Quick answer: Grinding Quartz Glass covers Quartz Glass (CTE 0.59 x 10^-6 /K, 260 nm – 2.5 um); Grinding to flatness to 5 um over 100 mm. Prototypes ship in 5-10 working days.
Ask any process engineer what makes quartz glass difficult and the answer is specific: natural-quartz batches vary in metallic ppm, so semiconductor lots need certs per melt. Our grinding line is tooled around exactly that – rotary surface grinders and double-disc machines with diamond wheels – holding flatness to 5 um over 100 mm on parts from 0.3 – 60 mm thick.
Specification envelope
| Material | Quartz Glass (GE214-equivalent, semiconductor grade) |
|---|---|
| Thermal expansion (CTE) | 0.59 x 10^-6 /K |
| Service temperature | 1,050 C continuous |
| Transmission range | 260 nm – 2.5 um |
| Density | 2.20 g/cm3 |
| Knoop hardness | 500 kg/mm2 |
| Refractive index | 1.459 @ 587 nm |
| Stock thickness | 0.20 – 60 mm |
| Maximum blank size | 450 mm diameter |
| Process | Grinding |
| Working tolerance | flatness to 5 um over 100 mm |
| Minimum feature | thickness to +/-0.005 mm |
| Surface finish | Ra 0.2 – 0.8 um |
| Thickness window | 0.3 – 60 mm |
| Edge condition | ground perimeter, squareness 0.02 mm |
| RFQ inputs | PDF/DXF/STEP drawing, quantity brackets, surface and edge spec |
Process window
Grinding earns its place through bringing thickness, flatness and parallelism into calibrated tolerance before polish. Its boundary condition – subsurface damage of 5 – 15 um must be budgeted and removed by polishing on optical faces – is the first thing our DFM review checks.
Beyond this page, Quartz Glass routinely runs through lapping, etching, dicing, ultrasonic machining in our shop – most real parts combine two or three of these steps.
Specification advice
Three items decide most of the cost and lead time on this work:
- Material note: natural-quartz batches vary in metallic ppm, so semiconductor lots need certs per melt.
- Process boundary: subsurface damage of 5 – 15 um must be budgeted and removed by polishing on optical faces.
- 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.
For the complete framework, see the tolerance design guide and the holes and edges design guide.
Who orders this
Orders for grinding quartz glass cluster in semiconductor equipment (view ports, wafer carriers, plasma rings, chamber windows); laboratory instruments (cuvettes, sight glasses, stir-cell windows). Background reading on the underlying material science: ScienceDirect: quartz glass.
The fastest route to a quote is geometry: use the 3D configurator below, or the site-wide custom glass machining 3D builder for fully custom parts.
Engineers scoping this work usually also review perforated quartz plates, precision glass grinding, BF33 microfluidic chip.
Frequently asked questions
What tolerances are achievable on Quartz Glass parts?
Ground features hold +/-0.01 mm and lapped thickness reaches +/-0.003 mm. Natural-quartz batches vary in metallic ppm, so semiconductor lots need certs per melt.
What thickness range do you stock for Quartz Glass?
Standard stock spans 0.20 – 60 mm, with blanks up to 450 mm diameter. Other formats are sourced per order.
How does Quartz Glass behave under heat?
CTE is 0.59 x 10^-6 /K and continuous service reaches 1,050 C continuous, which is what drives its use where fused from natural quartz crystal matters.
What accuracy does grinding hold?
Flatness to 5 um over 100 mm with minimum features of thickness to +/-0.005 mm. Subsurface damage of 5 – 15 um must be budgeted and removed by polishing on optical faces.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in July 2026.