Quartz glass is a unique industrial glass comprising a single component of silicon dioxide, exhibiting a distinctive set of physical and chemical characteristics. It is often referred to as the "king of glass" due to its exceptional properties.

Quartz glass exhibits a range of excellent optical properties. Compared with ordinary glass, high-purity quartz glass has good transmittance across an extensive range of wavelengths, from the far ultraviolet (160nm) to the far infrared (5μm), which is not available in general optical glass. The excellent spectral transmittance and optical uniformity make quartz glass widely used in the fabrication of many optical devices.

1. Fiber-optic communication

Optical fibre is the medium used for optical transmission, which is conducted through both ends of the fibre. It is a widely used technology in the field of optical fibre communication. The use of optical fibre communication allows for high anti-interference, fast speeds and large transmission capacities, making it an important component of modern communication systems. Quartz fibre has been developed with a mature technology base and offers a number of advantages, including high precision, high strength, high reliability, low energy consumption and simple assembly. Consequently, in recent years, quartz fibre has become an increasingly crucial component in a multitude of fields, including artificial satellites, deep space exploration, inertial navigation and other areas.

2. Optical lens

With the advancement of science, technology, and industrial capabilities over the world, quartz glass has become an integral part of everyday life. In the realm of new energy, China's "Shenguang-III" main device incorporates quartz glass as a crucial material for terminal optical components such as vacuum windows, lenses, shielding plates, polarizers, continuous phase plates, and beam sampling gratings. Within the microoptical materials field, quartz glass is extensively utilized in the microlens industry due to its exceptional transmission ratio across the ultraviolet to infrared wavelength range. These micro lenses are commonly employed in digital cameras, computer display screens, CCD camera lenses, medical equipment and other devices.

3. Reflectors

Reflectors is one of the important components of space optical system such as space telescope, exploration satellite, weather satellite and reconnaissance satellite. With the development of space imaging technology and the deepening of human cognition of the universe, there has been a corresponding escalation in demands for enhanced precision within these optical systems. Consequently, the reflector surfaces should exhibit not only high resolution but also exceptional imaging quality.  Given that outer space presents unique environmental challenges including the absence of gravity and significant temperature fluctuations, it is essential to consider the load requirements of the optical system when it is launched into space. The production of large space optical systems requires the material with a small thermal deformation coefficient, large specific stiffness, and small surface roughness.

Given the aforementioned performance criteria, low expansion quartz glass emerges as the materials of choice. With an exceptionally low coefficient of thermal expansion and excellent cold and thermal processing capabilities, low expansion quartz glass can be fabricated into a closed honeycomb structure. The production process for low expansion quartz glass material is well-established, rendering it widely utilized in optical engineering applications such as serving as the primary mirror for the Hubble Space Telescope.