Fused quartz

Fused quartz is glass made by melting high-purity quartz and consisting almost entirely of silica. Its low thermal expansion and broad optical transparency make it useful in demanding thermal and optical settings.

Silicon dioxide: Silicon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of silicon and oxygen, occurring in crystalline and amorphous forms. Fused quartz is an exceptionally pure glass form of this compound.
Thermal expansion: Thermal expansion is the change in a material’s dimensions as its temperature changes. Fused quartz expands unusually little, limiting thermal stress during rapid temperature changes.
Halogen lamp: A halogen lamp is an incandescent lamp containing a halogen gas that supports a regenerative tungsten cycle. Its hot envelope often uses fused quartz to withstand high operating temperatures.
Fused silica: Fused silica is amorphous silica produced by melting or chemical deposition, with properties affected by its manufacturing route. The terms fused silica and fused quartz are often distinguished by whether the silica began as natural quartz.
Quartz: Quartz is a crystalline mineral composed of silicon dioxide, with a framework of linked silicon–oxygen tetrahedra. High-purity quartz supplies the silica melted to make this glass.
Thermal shock: Thermal shock is damage caused when rapid temperature changes create stresses within a material. Fused quartz’s low expansion gives it strong resistance to thermal shock.
Ultraviolet lamp: An ultraviolet lamp produces radiation primarily in the ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Fused quartz envelopes transmit ultraviolet light efficiently.
Borosilicate glass: Borosilicate glass is glass containing substantial boron trioxide, valued for chemical durability and thermal-shock resistance. It offers useful heat resistance but differs in composition and ultraviolet transmission.
Glass: Glass is an amorphous solid whose atoms lack the long-range order found in crystals. Melting quartz and cooling it without crystallization produces fused quartz.
Optical transparency: Optical transparency is the transmission of light through a material with limited absorption and scattering. High purity and low defect content allow fused quartz to transmit light over a broad spectral range.

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