Laser Cutting Quartz Glass: Quartz Glass (CTE 0.59 x 10^-6 /K, 260 nm – 2.5 um); Laser Cutting to +/-0.02 mm contour. Single-piece prototypes to production volumes, quoted from your drawing.
laser cutting quartz glass is a materials problem before it is a machining problem. Quartz Glass has fused from natural quartz crystal and a Knoop hardness of 500 kg/mm2, so the laser cutting recipe – feeds, coolant, tooling – differs from what works on ordinary float glass. The line runs picosecond and CO2 laser stations with vision registration and holds +/-0.02 mm contour.
Key parameters
| 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 | Laser Cutting |
| Working tolerance | +/-0.02 mm contour |
| Minimum feature | 0.10 mm hole diameter |
| Surface finish | sealed edge, chip-free |
| Thickness window | 0.03 – 6 mm |
| Edge condition | filamentation edge, optional post-polish |
| RFQ inputs | PDF/DXF/STEP drawing, quantity brackets, surface and edge spec |
DFM notes from the shop floor
The shop-floor rules that matter here:
- Material note: natural-quartz batches vary in metallic ppm, so semiconductor lots need certs per melt.
- Process boundary: aspect ratio in a single pass tops out near 10:1; thicker sections shift to coring or ultrasonic work.
- 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 Laser Cutting is chip-free free-form contours and dense hole arrays in thin and ultra-thin glass. The honest limit: aspect ratio in a single pass tops out near 10:1; thicker sections shift to coring or ultrasonic work. Both belong on the drawing before quoting, not after.
One material, many routes: on Quartz Glass we also quote sandblasting, etching, drilling, lapping, and multi-step drawings are the norm rather than the exception.
Typical applications
The recurring buyers of laser cutting quartz glass: 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 builder below, draw a dimensioned 2D drawing from it, or open the site-wide custom glass machining 3D + 2D builder for fully custom parts.
Related reading on this site: JGS1 quartz glass, CNC machining capability, precision glass grinding.
Buyer questions, answered
What equipment runs the laser cutting work?
Picosecond and CO2 laser stations with vision registration.
Is there a minimum order for laser cutting quartz glass?
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.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in August 2026.