Low-Cost Suprasil® Standard Commercial Grade Enters The Market

With its newest product—Suprasil® Standard Commercial Grade (Suprasil® Standard CG)—quartz glass specialist Heraeus Quarzglas is introducing an inexpensive variety of high-quality synthetic quartz glass for standard UV optics to the market, completing its product portfolio.

Suprasil® Standard CG combines the exceptional physical properties of quartz glass with excellent optical transmittance in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the spectrum. In addition to achieving a high level of purity, the material is free of striation and almost free of bubbles and inclusions. Manufactured by means of flame hydrolysis, the synthetic quartz ingots are available in various geometric configurations with diameters ranging from 140 to 650 mm. They have a variety of uses, from windows in industrial furnaces to simple optical systems. This inexpensive, yet high-quality standard material completes the broad Suprasil® product range from the quartz glass experts.

Heraeus had already developed synthetic silica glass back in 1955, producing a mirror and window material for aerospace technology. The company's Suprasil® made it all the way to the moon as a prism material for laser reflectors, which are used to this day to measure the distance between the earth and the moon. Heraeus Quarzglas is considered one of the few specialists to have mastered all facets of high-tech fused silica production, attaining a level of quality that is unique. Heraeus manu-factures preforms for fiber optics production for the telecommunications industry, one of the primary applications for quartz glass. In the semiconductor industry, high-purity silica glass also plays a crucial role in lens systems for microchip production. Specially developed silica with the highest purity grade is used in optics for excimer laser steppers for industrial chip manufacturing, with each piece customized to meet the requirements for the individual application. With Suprasil® 501, Heraeus has now developed self-healing quartz glass for microlithography.

Heraeus, the precious metals and technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a global, private company with over 155 years of tradition. Our businesses include precious metals, sensors, dental and medical products, quartz glass, and specialty lighting sources. With product revenues of € 3B and precious metal trading revenues of € 9B, as well as over 11,000 employees in more than 100 companies worldwide, Heraeus holds a leading position in its global markets.