Application of quartz glass in optical field

Application of quartz glass in optical field
Quartz glass is a special industrial technology glass composed of silica single component, which has a series of special physical and chemical properties, and is praised as "the king of glass" by experts in the field of new materials. It is an important basic material for modern information industry, optics, photovoltaic, semiconductor and other national strategic emerging industries and aerospace and other national defense fields.

The structural characteristics of quartz glass. The pure quartz glass is composed of a single silicon dioxide (SiO2) component. The Si-O bond in the quartz glass is arranged in a short-range ordered and long-range disordered state. Because the bond energy of the Si-O bond is strong and relatively stable, the quartz glass has a high softening temperature, excellent spectral transmittance, extremely low thermal expansion coefficient and conductivity, and high chemical stability Irradiation resistance and long working life under extreme conditions.

The optical properties of glass are due to a series of excellent optical properties of quartz glass. Compared with ordinary glass, high-purity quartz glass has a range from far ultraviolet (160 nm) to far infrared (5 μ m) Good transmittance in the extremely wide spectrum, which is not possessed by ordinary optical glass. The excellent spectral transmittance and optical uniformity make quartz glass widely used in many fields of optical devices. Quartz glass has good radiation resistance. Irradiation resistant quartz glass has been widely used as the window material of the "Shenzhou" series spacecraft and the protective cover of the key components of the "Tiangong" series space laboratory.

The application of glass in the optical field, optical fiber communication, optical fiber is an optical transmission tool, optical transmission is carried out through both ends of the fiber, and is widely used in the optical fiber communication industry. Optical fiber communication has become an important modern communication pillar with high anti-interference, high speed and large transmission capacity. Quartz optical fiber has been developed early and its technology is mature. It has the advantages of high precision, high strength, high reliability, low energy consumption and simple assembly. Therefore, in recent years, quartz optical fiber has become more and more important for artificial satellites, deep space exploration, inertial navigation and other fields.

With the progress of science and technology and the improvement of industrial level in China, the application of quartz glass has been integrated into people's daily life. In the field of new energy, quartz glass is used in the "Shenguang-III" host device developed by China, as an important material for terminal optical components such as vacuum window, lens, shield, polarizer, continuous phase plate, beam sampling grating, etc. In the field of micro-optical materials, quartz glass materials are widely used in the microlens industry because of their excellent transmittance in the continuous wavelength range from ultraviolet to infrared. Micro lenses are commonly used in digital cameras, computer screens, CCD camera lenses, and medical devices.

The reflector is one of the important components of space optical systems such as space telescopes, exploration satellites, meteorological satellites and reconnaissance satellites. With the development of space imaging technology and the gradual deepening of human understanding of the universe, people's requirements for the accuracy of space optical systems have also improved. The mirror surface should not only have high resolution, but also have good imaging quality. Cosmic space is an environment without gravity and with a large temperature difference. In addition, it is necessary to consider the load requirements when launching optical systems into space. At the same time, the fabrication of large-scale optical systems in space requires that the materials used have a small thermal deformation coefficient, a large specific stiffness, and a small surface roughness.

According to the above performance conditions, low-expansion quartz glass is the preferred material for the main mirror blank of the Hubble Space Telescope. Low-expansion quartz glass has extremely low thermal expansion coefficient and excellent cold and hot processing performance, which can be made into closed honeycomb structure. The preparation process of low-expansion quartz glass material is relatively mature, and it is widely used in optical engineering, such as the main mirror blank of the Hubble Space Telescope.

As a special optical material, quartz glass plays an extremely important role in the fields of aerospace, semiconductor and precision devices. Its performance directly restricts the resolution, accuracy, stability and reliability of relevant equipment. However, even if its anti-irradiation performance is excellent, it will still be irradiated by space high-energy charged particles under long-term service conditions, resulting in a significant decline in its optical and other properties, thus affecting the service life of components. Therefore, it is necessary to study the influence of space ionizing radiation environment on quartz glass materials.

For your quartz glass requirements, please reach out to WDQ Optics with any questions or needs.