Custom Quartz Substrates

Flat quartz stock finished for optical, MEMS, and microfluidic use — where flatness, parallelism, and feature position matter more than plate size alone.

Substrates are usually thinner and flatter-spec than general plate stock, so thickness and flatness are the two numbers that most limit each other here — a thin substrate at a large L×W is the hardest combination to hold flat. Confirm both together.

Flatness, Parallelism, Surface Finish and Feature Position

Flatness and parallelism are specified independently — a substrate can be flat on each face individually and still have the two faces out of parallel with each other, which matters for anything mounted or bonded against a reference. Where holes, grooves, or alignment marks are added, their position is checked against the substrate's outer edge or a stated datum, not just against each other.

Quartz Substrates Factory Standard & Manufacturing Limit

The table above is what's repeatable without added lead time. Plain (as-cut or ground), polished, drilled, and grooved substrate configurations all start from the same flat stock — polishing, drilling, and grooving are added steps, so confirm which combination your part needs rather than assuming all features are compatible with the tightest flatness spec at once.

λ/4–λ/10Reference Surface Figure

≤1 nm RaReference Nano-Polish

JGS1UV-Grade Option

≥99.99%Natural SiO₂ · synthetic ≥99.999%

SSP / DSPSurface Configurations

Coating ReadyPrepared Working Face

Substrate Definition

The Working Surface Drives the Specification

Controlled Feature	Reference Capability / Requirement
Material	JGS1 or synthetic fused silica selected by wavelength and contamination need
Length × Width	Square, rectangular, strip or drawing-specific substrate
Thickness	Specified with thickness tolerance and polishing allowance
Surface Figure	λ/4 or λ/10 industry-reference levels over the functional area
Surface Roughness	Reference ≤1 nm Ra for double-side nano-polished workFinal value depends on material, area and inspection method
Parallelism	Specified between the two working faces where bonding or optical alignment requires it
Feature Position	Holes, grooves and marks referenced to the same substrate datums
Coating Interface	Cleanliness, edge exclusion and working-face identification

Surface Selection

Choose Only the Finish the Process Uses

Surface Level	Controlled Result	Typical Process
Ground / Lapped	Thickness and flat support surface	Fixtures, carriers and further polishing
Single-Side Polished	One optical or coating face	Filters, sensors and instrument substrates
Double-Side Polished	Two functional faces with parallelism	Bonding, microfluidics and transmission
Nano-Polished	Reference ≤1 nm Ra working surface	High-quality coating and biochip interfaces

Substrate Forms

Flat Bases for Optical and Microfabricated Systems

Square / RectangularGeneral polished base for coating, bonding and patterning

Strip SubstrateLong narrow format for filters, sensors and array devices

Featured SubstrateHoles, grooves or alignment marks tied to plate datums

Coating-Ready SurfaceClean polished face with edge exclusion and orientation defined

Applications

Processes Built on Quartz Substrates

Optical CoatingsPolished bases for filters, mirrors and wavelength-selective layers

Biochips & SensorsLow-background transparent platforms for patterned sensing surfaces

Microfluidics & MEMSFlat quartz layers for channels, bonding and device structures

Optical FiltersControlled surface figure and parallelism for coated transmission elements

Product Examples

Product Forms and Finished Components

Need a substrate prepared for coating or bonding?Send size, thickness, material, surface figure, roughness, parallelism and edge-exclusion drawing.

Open the Plate Configurator

Engineering Data

Grade-Qualified Material Purity

Electric-fused / flame-fused quartz: SiO₂ ≥99.99%; synthetic JGS1-grade fused silica: ≥99.999%. Grade and lot certificate govern supplied material.

Engineering Data

Surface-Figure Acceptance

For λ/10 acceptance, state the reference wavelength (633 nm unless agreed otherwise), measurement aperture and excluded edge zone, surface figure versus transmitted wavefront, peak-to-valley or RMS metric, mounting condition and interferometric test method. Ra ≤1 nm is a separate surface-roughness specification and does not substitute for figure acceptance.