Products

Silicon (Si) Windows
Maximum diameter 300mm
  • Window made of Czochralski or Float Zone Silicon
  • Transmission range 1.2-15μm
  • CZ silicon for MWIR (3-5μm) and FZ silicon for LWIR (8-12μm) applications
  • Coating options: DLC coating, AR coating
  • Low density for lightweight design, mechanical ruggedness, and Low cost
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  • Specifications:

    Materials Silicon crystals Diameter Range ~ 300mm
    Aperture >90% Dimension Tolerance +0.0/-0.2mm
    Thickness Tolerance +/-0.1mm Surface Quality 60/40 S/D
    Parallelism 1 arc minute Chamfer 0.3-0.5mmx45 degree
    Coating AR/AR or DLC/AR

     

    Material Properties:

    Transmission Range 1.2 to 15 μm Refractive Index 3.4223 @ 5 μm (1) (2)
    Reflection Loss 46.2% at 5 μm (2 surfaces) Absorption Coefficient 0.01 cm-1 at 3 μm
    Reststrahlen Peak n/a dn/dT 160 x 10-6 /°C (3)
    dn/dμ = 0 10.4 μm Density 2.33 g/cc
    Melting Point 1420 °C Thermal Conductivity 163.3 W m-1 K-1 at 273 K
    Thermal Expansion 2.6 x 10-6 / at 20°C Hardness Knoop 1150
    Specific Heat Capacity 703 J Kg-1 K-1 Dielectric Constant 13 at 10 GHz
    Youngs Modulus (E) 131 GPa (4) Shear Modulus (G) 79.9 GPa (4)
    Bulk Modulus (K) 102 GPa Elastic Coefficients C11=167; C12=65; C44=80 (4)
    Apparent Elastic Limit 124.1MPa (18000 psi) Poisson Ratio 0.266 (4)
    Solubility Insoluble in Water Molecular Weight 28.09
    Class/Structure Cubic diamond, Fd3m

    Shanghai North Optics offers Silicon (Si) Windows made from optical grade silicon ( Czochralski or Float Zone Silicon) for IR applications. Silicon windows exhibit good transmission properties in the IR spectrum, in particular in the MWIR and LWIR spectral regions. Due to their high thermal conductivity, Si windows perform great for lasers. In addition, with its low density (2.329 g/cm3, half that of Ge or ZnSe), silicon is conducive to realizing weight-sensitive designs. Silicon features chemical/abrasion resistance, making silicon windows durable and suitable for use in challenging environments ((in fact, it is the hardest material that is transparent to 1000-1600nm light).

    The silicon crystal grown using the Czochralski method is excellent for applications in the MWIR (3-5μm) spectrum. After depositing AR coating optimized for the wavelength range, the reflection of CZ silicon windows could be miniature. However, CZ silicon has a strong absorption band at 9μm.  Whilst during the production process, Float Zone silicon is doped with Nitrogen and purified to reduce its carbon and oxygen composition, attenuating the absorption at 9μm, therefore FZ silicon windows could be used in the LWIR (8-12μm) range. 

    North Optics offers custom Silicon Windows. The Si windows are available in various custom dimensions, with a maximum diameter of 300mm. Coating options include DLC/AR coating and AR/AR coating.

    Curves:

    1. Transmission curve of the Silicon windows (no coating)

     



    2. Transmission curve of the Silicon windows with AR/AR coating at 3-5μm



    3. Transmission of 0.5mm thickness FZ silicon windows without AR coating



    4. Transmission of 0.5mm thickness FZ silicon windows with AR coating optimized at 8-12 micro