Quartz (SiO₂) material is very similar to glass at first glance, but what is more special is that ordinary glass is composed of many components (such as quartz sand, borax, boric acid, barite, barium carbonate, limestone, feldspar, soda ash, etc.). composition, while quartz only contains SiO₂, and its microstructure is a simple network composed of silica tetrahedral structural units.Because the amount of metal impurities contained in quartz is very small, and its own purity is extremely high, quartz itself has characteristics and advantages that other glass cannot show, and is known as the "crown" in glass materials. For example, in terms of heat resistance, quartz will not burst even if it is placed in water immediately after being burned red in the fire, while ordinary glass will not burst in water after being burned red, but will be torn apart as soon as it is burned. More specific advantages are as follows:
1. High temperature resistance. The softening point temperature of quartz glass is about 1730℃, it can be used for a long time at 1150℃, and the highest temperature can reach 1450℃ in a short time.
2. Corrosion resistance. Except for hydrofluoric acid, high-purity quartz has almost no chemical reaction with other acids. At high temperature, it is resistant to attack by sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, aqua regia, neutral salts, carbon and sulfur. Its acid resistance is 30 times that of ceramics and 150 times that of stainless steel, especially its chemical stability at high temperature, which is unmatched by any other engineering material.
3. Good thermal stability. The thermal expansion coefficient of high-purity quartz is extremely small, and it can withstand severe temperature changes. The high-purity quartz is heated to about 1100 ℃, and it will not burst into normal temperature water.
4. Good light transmission performance. High-purity quartz has good light transmittance in the entire spectral band from ultraviolet to infrared, and the visible light transmittance is above 93%, especially in the ultraviolet spectral region, the maximum transmittance can reach more than 80%.
5. Good electrical insulation performance. The resistance value of high-purity quartz is 10,000 times that of ordinary quartz glass. It is an excellent electrical insulating material and has good electrical properties even at high temperatures.
Thanks to these excellent physical and chemical properties, high-purity quartz materials are widely used in modern electronic technology, semiconductors, communications, electric light sources, solar energy, national defense high-precision measuring instruments, laboratory physical and chemical instruments, nuclear energy, nano-industry, etc. Especially in the fast-growing semiconductor industry, the size of silicon wafers has been increasing, so chip manufacturers have increased demand for various components made of quartz. However, it should also be noted that in order to prevent contamination during processing, the high purity of the quartz material must be ensured during use