What is a quartz glass tube? What are its advantages?

Quartz glass tube is a special glass material made of high-purity silicon dioxide (SiO₂), usually made by high-temperature melting, drawing or pressing. It is an inorganic non-metallic material with excellent physical and chemical properties, and is widely used in optics, electronics, semiconductors, lighting, medical, chemical and other fields.

The main difference between quartz glass tube and ordinary glass is that its raw material purity is higher, usually the SiO₂ content exceeds 99.9%, so it has higher transparency, lower thermal expansion coefficient, stronger heat resistance and chemical stability.

Advantages of quartz glass tube:

1. High temperature resistance
The softening point of quartz glass is about 1730℃. In actual use, its maximum operating temperature can reach 1450℃, and it can withstand higher temperatures for a short time.

This makes quartz glass tubes very suitable for experiments and industrial applications in high temperature environments, such as electric light sources, semiconductor manufacturing, high temperature reactors, etc.

2. Excellent chemical stability
Quartz glass hardly reacts with any acidic substances. Except for hydrofluoric acid (HF), it has good corrosion resistance to most acids, alkalis and salts.

Its acid resistance is 30 times that of ceramics and 150 times that of stainless steel, so it performs well in strong acid and alkali environments.

3. Extremely low thermal expansion coefficient
The thermal expansion coefficient of quartz glass is very small, about 1/6 of that of ordinary glass. This means that it is not easy to break when experiencing drastic temperature changes, and is suitable for occasions that require rapid heating or cooling.

For example, if quartz glass is heated to 1100℃ and quickly placed in cold water, it will not break.

4. High transparency and good optical properties
Quartz glass has extremely high light transmittance in the visible light range, usually greater than 93%.

It also has good transmittance in the ultraviolet light region (UV) and infrared light region (IR), and is suitable for optical instruments, lasers, fiber optic devices, etc.

Transparent quartz tubes (such as MQ-R series) can be used to manufacture high-precision optical components such as lenses, prisms, windows, etc.

5. Good electrical insulation performance
Quartz glass has extremely high resistivity, about 10,000 times that of ordinary glass, and is an excellent electrical insulation material.

Even at high temperatures, its electrical properties remain stable, and it is suitable for electronic equipment, semiconductor packaging, high-voltage electrical appliances and other fields.

6. High purity and controllability
Quartz glass tubes can be prepared into different purity levels as needed to meet different application requirements.

For example, quartz glass tubes used in semiconductor manufacturing need to achieve extremely high purity to avoid impurities affecting device performance.

7. Good processing performance
Quartz glass has good fluidity in the molten state, which is convenient for drawing, pressing, cutting, drilling and other processing.

Tubes of various specifications can be made according to customer needs, such as transparent quartz tubes, milky white quartz tubes, bent tubes, spherical tubes, special-shaped tubes, etc.

Application fields of quartz glass tubes
Due to its excellent comprehensive performance, quartz glass tubes are widely used in the following fields:

Optical field:
Used to manufacture lenses, prisms, optical windows, lasers, optical fiber devices, etc.
Transparent quartz tubes (MQ-R series) are suitable for light source equipment such as infrared lamps and ultraviolet lamps.

Electronics and semiconductor industry:
Used to manufacture semiconductor materials, electronic components, chip packaging, vacuum tubes, etc.
High-purity quartz glass tubes are one of the indispensable materials in semiconductor manufacturing.

Lighting industry:
Used to manufacture lighting equipment such as high-pressure mercury lamps, sodium lamps, and metal halide lamps.
Dehydroxylated quartz tubes (OH content less than 5ppm) are particularly suitable for lighting equipment with extremely high material purity requirements.

Chemical and laboratory:
Used to manufacture laboratory equipment such as reactors, flasks, test tubes, filters, etc.
Applicable to extreme experimental conditions such as strong acid, strong alkali, and high temperature.

Medical and biotechnology:
Used to manufacture protein purification columns, nucleic acid extraction columns, high-temperature sterilization equipment, etc.
Applicable to high-precision experiments such as biopharmaceuticals and gene sequencing.

Energy and Environmental Protection:
Used in manufacturing solar panels, electric heaters, heat exchangers, etc.
Applicable to high temperature, high pressure, and highly corrosive industrial environments.

Quartz glass tube is a special glass material with excellent physical and chemical properties. Its high purity, high transparency, high temperature resistance, low thermal expansion coefficient and other characteristics make it indispensable in many high-tech fields. Whether used in optics, electronics, semiconductors, lighting, chemicals, medical and other fields, quartz glass tubes have shown excellent application value and broad market prospects.