ZERODUR is used in such applications as laser technology where it's used for mirror substrates in micro lithography and other important optical components.  Astronomical and x-ray telescope  mirrors are prime examples of some applications among many others.

   It is an inorganic, non-porous material which has a crystalline phase and a glassy phase. Glass ceramic materials are produced as follows:

   Using methods common in glass technology, suitable raw materials are melted, refined, homogenized, and then hot formed. After the cooling and annealing of the glassy blank a temperature treatment follows in which the glass is transformed into a glass ceramic through controlled volume crystallization. During this temperature treatment, nuclei form within the glass and the crystals subsequently grow at a somewhat higher temperature. The crystalline phase and the glass phase together then lend the material its special properties.

   The material contains 70-78 weight percent crystalline phase with a high quartz structure.  This has a negative linear thermal expansion, while that of the glass phase is positive.  The special composition of the base glass for the glass ceramic and defined nucleation and crystallization conditions result in a material with extremely low thermal expansion which in certain temperature ranges can even be zero or slightly negative, depending on the ceramization program.

           Listed below is some information on this material.

Note:  To reduce file size, many of the graphs have been reproduced over the originals.

   ZERODUR is a clear transparent material. The crystalline phase in leads to a wavelength dependent scattering behavior which is typical of Rayleigh scattering. This is shown in Table 3 with the help of the R90 values.  They are a measure for the proportion of light scattered at 90 degrees per path length of the observed primary ray.

Refractive indices - Abbe values

   Both coefficients are listed for different temperature ranges and wavelengths in Table 2. These values are guideline values.

   Since ZERODUR has a residual glass phase of approximately 22-30 weight %, the refractive index and density are influenced by the cooling domain.  The effect is smaller than that for pure glass.

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