The formation of quartz glass is caused by the high viscosity of its melt at high temperature. It is widely used in the production of semiconductors, electro-optic sources, semiconducting communication devices, lasers, optical instruments, laboratory instruments, electrical equipment, medical equipment, high-temperature and corrosion-resistant chemical instruments, chemical industry, electronics, metallurgy, building materials, national defense and other industries. With the development of semiconductor technology, quartz glass is widely used in various processes of semiconductor production. For example, Czochralski method converts polycrystalline silicon into monocrystalline silicon; Cleaning tank for cleaning; Diffusion tube and grooved boat for diffusion; Bell jar for ion implantation, etc.
Quartz glass is a kind of special glass containing only a single component of silica. Due to different types, processes and raw materials, they are often called silicate glass, quartz glass, fused quartz, synthetic fused quartz, and transparent, translucent and opaque quartz without clear concepts. In China, quartz glass is collectively referred to as quartz glass, which is mostly classified according to process method, purpose and appearance, such as electrofusion transparent quartz glass, continuous melting quartz glass, gas refining transparent quartz glass, synthetic quartz glass, opaque quartz glass, optical quartz glass, quartz glass for semiconductor, quartz glass for electric light source, etc. People are used to naming this material with a simple word "quartz", which is inappropriate, because "quartz" is a general term for crystalline silica, which is different from glassy silica in physical and chemical properties.
Quartz glass has low coefficient of thermal expansion, high temperature resistance, good chemical stability, excellent electrical insulation, low and stable ultrasonic delay performance, good UV spectral performance, visible light and near-infrared spectral performance, and has higher mechanical properties than ordinary glass. Therefore, it is one of the indispensable excellent materials in modern cutting-edge technology, such as space technology, atomic energy industry, national defense equipment, automation system, semiconductor, metallurgy, chemical industry, electric light source, communication, light industry, building materials and other industries.