HITEGLA BLOG
Difficulties in working with quartz glass
Problems when working with quartz glass JGS-1, JGS-2, JGS-3 (SiO₂ > 99.9%):
Extreme hardness and brittleness - Hardness ~7 on the Mohs scale makes mechanical processing difficult; the material breaks easily under local stress.
Difficult thermal processing - A softening temperature above 1600°C requires specialized furnaces and precise control, otherwise microcracks will form.
High production costs: Pure raw materials, energy-intensive melting processes, and limited availability increase the unit cost.
Sensitivity to thermal shock gradients: Despite a low coefficient of expansion (~0.5 × 10⁻⁶/K), rapid temperature changes cause internal stresses.
Problems with purity and contamination - Trace metal impurities (Fe, Al, Na) impair UV transmission and optical parameters, which is critical in the semiconductor and optics industries.
Difficulty in joining - Welding and bonding require special technologies (quartz fusion, high-purity UV adhesives), otherwise the structure is weakened.
Silica dust – health and safety hazard Processing generates respirable crystalline silica, prolonged inhalation of which leads to silicosis.
In short: quartz glass offers exceptional thermal and optical properties, but at the cost of difficult, expensive, and technologically demanding processing.
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