Transparent materials
Transparency is often a material requirement for optical systems. Within the family of technical ceramics only sapphire meets this requirement. Sapphire is a very high purity(99,99%) aluminium oxide(monocrystalline) with very good heat and chemical resistance. The material is often used in applications for electronics, photonics and semiconductor industry.
Another transparent material with similar characteristics to technical ceramics is quartz. A material made out of almost pure siliciumdioxide in amorphous structure. Because less additives are used in the production process compared with commercial glass it holds on to its characteristics at high temperatures. This give the material a competitive edge for high tech applications.
Please contact a Gimex adviser for more information or advice.
Sapphire is very high purity aluminium oxide(99,99%) and has a mono crystalline structure. The materials is extremely hard, has good mechanical and optical properties. The optical properties or transparency are due to the lack of grain boundaries in the materials. In this it differs from the other forms of aluminum oxide which consist of polycrystalline form.
Applications:
- Prisms
- Lenses
- Laser diodes
One of the best-known applications of sapphire is the spheres used on the probes of 3D measuring machines. These bullets differ in color by adding chromium, which makes the bullets turn red. This provides a greater contrast compared to the products to be measured.
Download our sapphire data sheet here!
Quartz glass is made by melting quartz crystals with a very high purity (99.9%) of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and allowing it to cool to a basic shape. The final shape of the product can be realized by various traditional glass processing techniques, but it is also possible to grind the parts with CNC machines in order to achieve high tolerances.
Applications:
– Semiconductor industry
– Chemical installations
– Analytical equipment
Download our quartz data sheet here!
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