Degussa has developed Aerosil EG50, a new nanoscale high purity fused silica for the manufacture of speciality glass. Its very low content of trace elements means the material is suitable for use in the production of high purity silica glass for applications including optics, semiconductors and information technology. Aerosil EG50 can be processed using conventional industrial procedures, but colloidal sol-gel processes have proved particularly effective because they allow highly loaded dispersions based on Aerosil EG50 to be manufactured into moulded glass bodies. Aerosil EG50 has overall excellent dispersing behaviour in aqueous media. Promising areas of application include optical fibres; complex optical components with special shape and outstanding UV transparency; lithiographic photomasks and moulded speciality silica glass bodies.
