Single Crystal Quartz for Optical Applications

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Properties:    Material  ·  Physical  ·  Optical

Optical Quartz Material Properties - Crystal Quality
Infrared αa < 0.060 (3500 cm-1 basis)
Inclusions Near zero (LPOF, WP grades)
< 1.2/cm³ (OPAG grade)
Etch channel densitya < 100/cm²
Handednessb Right (left available upon request)
Twins None
 
Impurities (ppm)
Al < 5.0
Ca < 5.0
K < 5.0
Na < 5.0
Mg < 1.0
Ti < 1.0
Cu < 0.5
Fe < 0.5
Li < 0.5
Mn < 0.5
Optical Quartz Physical Properties
Coefficient of thermal expansion

7.97 x 106/°C (// c-axis, 0-80°C)

13.37 x 10-6/°C ( c-axis, 0-80°C)

Thermal conductivity

10.7 W/m°C (// c-axis, @ 50°C)

6.21 W/m°C ( c-axis, @ 50°C)

Specific heat 0.787 J/g°C (@ 25°C)
Density 2.648 g/cm3
Young’s modulus

97 Gpa (// c-axis, @ 25°C)

76.5 Gpa ( c-axis, @ 25°C)

Optical Quartz Optical Properties
Refractive Index

λ (nm)

no

ne

λ(nm)

no

ne

185.1

1.67750

1.68988

627.8

1.54282

1.55188

193.6

1.65999

1.67343

667.8

1.54155

1.55057

200.1

1.64927

1.66227

706.5

1.54049

1.54947

219.5

1.62497

1.63698

766.5

1.53907

1.54801

242.8

1.60525

1.61650

794.8

1.53848

1.54739

250.3

1.60032

1.61139

844.7

1.53753

1.54640

303.4

1.57955

1.58720

1000.0

1.53503

1.54381

340.4

1.56747

1.57737

1083.0

1.53387

1.54260

404.6

1.55716

1.56671

1541.0

1.52781

1.53630

467.8

1.55103

1.56031

2053.0

1.52005

1.52823

508.0

1.54822

1.55746

2600.0

1.5096

1.5172

546.1

1.54617

1.55535

3000.0

1.4998

1.5070

589.3

1.54425

1.55336

4000.0

1.4654

1.4709

 
dn/dT @ 640 nm
ne

-0.65 x 10-5/°C

no

-0.55 x 10-5/°C

High quality optical crystal quartz in a variety of dimensions for almost any application -

  • Wave Plates
  • Windows
  • Prisms

Characteristics:    Optical Half Section  ·  Low Pass Optical Filter Bar  ·  Wave Plate Bar

Quartz Optical half sectionOptical Half Section
  • Bar grown from a Z-Plate seed
  • Bar shown has no seed
Low Pass Optical Filter BarLow Pass Optical Filter (LPOF) Bar
  • Z Growth to maximize available see-free vlume for Z plates
  • 100mm and 150mm diameter Z-Plates available
  • Near-zero inclusion density
WaveplateWave Plate Bar
  • Near zero inclusions
  • 100 mm and 150 mm diameter
  • X-Plates available
  • X-Growth to maximise available seed-free volume for X-Plates

 

Optical Half Section Low Pass Optical Filter Bar Wave Plate Bar
X – Height (mm)  Max 100 150 50 45 40 35
Y – Length (mm)  Max 250 75 90 100 110 75 90 100 110
Z – Width (mm)  Max 40 50 45 40 35 150
Material Region Pure Z Region Seed Free Pure Z Region Seed Free + X Region Seed Free ¹
Inclusions 20/in³ or 40/in³ Near 0 Near 0
Impurities Low Near 0 Near 0
Quartz Optical half section Low Pass Optical Filter Bar Waveplate Bar

¹ Typical dimensions, natural faceting may cause dimensions to vary slightly. All bars are right-handed and of zero-degree orientation. The bars are marked with minus-x,z-size and run identification.

  Weights per bar
OHALF 2.8-3.0kg
LPOF 89 1.8-2.0kg
LPOF 150 4.1-4.3kg
WPB 1.2-1.3kg

The new products are a culmination of a long Research & Development process in an effort to offer superior material at a reasonable cost and delivery. The key components of this effort were to accomplish the following goals to satisfy the needs of the opto-electronic market.

  • Near Zero Inclusions
  • Near Zero Impurities
  • Large Usable Area
  • Lowest Possible Cost
  • Shortest Lead-Times

High quality cultured quartz crystal for a variety of optical applications - from polarizing optics for lasers to waveplates for telecommunications to windows for scientific and medical instruments. For all of these applications, birefringence and high transmittance over an extended range of wavelengths are essential. Furthermore, it is vital to ensure both high quality and batch-to-batch consistency with respect to optical homogeneity, inclusion and dislocation content.

A combination of experience, technological expertise and manufacturing resources enable the reliable supply of a wide variety of optical grade quartz products that are custom tailored to customer applications. Products can be supplied in a variety of shapes and sizes from bulk crystal in bar form to cubes, prisms, core-drilled tubes and X-ray oriented blanks.

Optical Quartz Grades Available

There are three main grades of crystal designed specifically for optical applications.

OPAG Grade – for general optical applications requiring low-inclusion quartz material with seed-free dimensions up to 100mm (X) by 250mm (Y) by 40mm (Z). Primary growth layers for these crystals are perpendicular to the Z-axis (optic axis) and parallel to the X- and Y-axes.

LPOF Grade – originally designed for use in low-pass optical filters, this grade offers quartz that is practically inclusion free. Similar to OPAG grade, primary growth layers for LPOF crystals are perpendicular to the Z-axis.

WP Grade – originally designed for large waveplate applications, this grade also offers practically inclusion free material. WP grade material differs from both OPAG and LPOF grade in that primary growth layers are perpendicular to the X-axis and parallel to the Y- and Z-axes.

Quartz Forms Available

All optical grade products are available both as bulk crystals and as fabricated shapes. Bulk crystals can be provided in “as-grown” form, or as “lumbered” bars with primary surfaces ground smooth, dimensioned and oriented to specified tolerances. In addition, a variety of fabricated shapes can be supplied, including blocks, prisms, cylinders and round or rectangular wafers. Standard shapes and dimensions are provided in the table though custom sizes and shapes are available upon request.