Abrisa has been in the glass fabrication business for over 27 years. To understand some of the industry terminology, we’ve compiled a glossary of brief definitions. 

ANTI-REFLECTIVE (A/R) GLASS
Anti-reflective glass is created by bonding specially selected optically designed coatings to the surface of the glass. The coating bonds to the surface of the glass cutting the surface reflectivity from approximately 4% to less than 0.1% in some cases. The purpose is glare reduction, improving brightness or sharpening image contrast. A/R coatings can be specified on one or double sides, and in levels of gloss.

BOROSILICATE GLASS
This glass all contains Boron as a component material. It is characterized by its resistance to heat, chemicals, and specific coefficients of thermal expansion. Borofloat® is a registered name for a type of borosilicate glass.

CERAMIC GLASS
This glass is mechanically very strong material with almost no expansion or contraction when exposed to repeated and quick temperature changes, even up to 800-1000° C.  Besides common uses such as Corningware and ceramic stove tops, ceramic glass is used in electronics and sensors applications.

CHEMICAL STRENGTHENING
This type of glass strengthening increases the thermal and mechanical strengths of glass without affecting the optical properties. This method is appropriate for thin glass, complex shaped parts or where minimal optical or mechanical distortion is desired. It is strengthened through an ion exchange process and produces up to 5 times the strength of annealed glass. Glass strengthened by this process will not “dice”.

DICHROIC FILTERS
Dichroic filters are most commonly 1.75mm, coated on Borofloat glass, and useful when high heat resistance is required. Color filters can be heat treated up to 6” diameter for additional heat resistance. These work by blocking out certain color wavelengths of light. Both type of filters can help control temperature, enhance or change light colors. These filters are used mainly in lighting applications.

FABRICATED GLASS
This describes the customization of glass for the OEM market. It could include strengthening, coatings, machining, cutting, edging, surface grinding, polishing, specialty packaging.

FLOAT GLASS
Float glass is a name for common window or plate glass. It is named float glass because the most common method for producing glass is using molten tin, where the molten glass floats on top of the tin, thus giving the name “float glass”. It is graded to meet specific applications from commercial to optical quality.

A low-iron float glass has less iron in its composition, resulting in a clearer glass with very little greenish hue.

FRONT SURFACE MIRROR
This is a special glass with a mirror coating on the front surface of the glass. These can meet specific reflectivity, flatness, thickness requirements. Additional coatings such as Anti-reflective coatings may also be applied. These mirrors are primarily used in rear projection display applications, television, photography, as well as special applications in the optical field.

GLASS COATING
These are just what they say: they coat the glass to provide added features and benefits to glass. There are standard coatings as well as custom coatings. Each coating has specific characteristics which must be matched to the glass substrate and the desired end result.

HOT MIRROR and COLD MIRROR
Hot Mirrors reflect UV light while allowing visible light to be transmittted. Common uses are lighting in museum displays, store windows, light sources where UV standards are specified.

Cold Mirrors reflect greater than 95% of visible light while transmitting 90% of the infrared light (heat energy). Common uses are movie projectors, photo copiers, dental illuminators.

INDUSTRIAL GLASS
This term describes glass fabrications supporting the industrial market sector. Some of the industrial applications include fabricated glass for: ATM machines, warehouse inventory barcode readers, mobile tracking units, bio-medical tools, security lighting, night vision products, and touch screens.

NON-GLARE GLASS
Non-glare glass is specified when the goal is to reduce the percentage of reflected light. To achieve this, the surface of the glass is chemically etched to break up reflection patterns and scatter reflected light. Glare reduction can be specified on either single or double surfaces. It is available in several quality and etching levels: from picture frame quality to display quality, and from 1- to 140 gloss units.

OPTICAL COATINGS
This coating is a thin layer of material placed on a glass lens or mirror which alters the way light passes through, or is reflected off the glass. Precision optical coatings are used in applications requiring high quality light and image transmission, such as medical imaging, instrumentation, microscopy and such. The following are some of these types of coatings:

OPTICAL GLASS
Glass is termed “Optical Glass” when its properties are conducive to applications requiring high quality light transmission, and is pure and clear in appearance. This includes all applications concerned with the quality of imaging.

PRECISION GLASS
This is a high-technology glass that is lighter and lower in density with advanced attributes and superior surface quality. The surfaces are clean, ultra-flat, and dimensionally stable. Common applications are leading edge displays, instrumentation, gauges, heavy equipment monitors and displays.

QUARTZ / FUSED SILICA
These two types of glasses are virtually identical but have different methods of manufacture and slightly different material properties. They are used in applications where high ultraviolet light transmission, good thermal stability, or chemical inertness is required.

Advances in raw material beneficiation permit transparent fusions from sand as well as from crystal. When naturally occurring crystalline silica (sand or rock) is melted, the material is called fused quartz. When silicon dioxide is synthetically derived, the material is referred to as synthetic fused silica.

These materials can withstand temperatures to 2000° F. Abrisa offers several grades of Quartz and Fused Silica.

SODA-LIME GLASS
The most common form of glass.

TECHNICAL GLASS
This term describes sheet glass and flat glass with good optical properties and high thermal resistance. This glass is appropriate for optical coatings, electronic displays and components, sensor technology, biotechnology uses, and harsh environments.

TEMPERED GLASS
This is a method of strengthening glass when small shards or “dicing” is required when the glass is broken. Heat tempering will cause some optical distortion.

THIN GLASS
This glass is a clear technical glass made of very pure raw ingredients, and is characterized by low thermal expansion and thermal resistivity, good chemical resistance, high surface quality, good optical transmission, and flatness.
 
TUBING
Made of borosilicate glass, tubing and rods can be cut to the required shape and size. Abrisa carries the entire Schott line of tubing and rods.

WAFERS
A wafer is a thin slice of semiconducting glass material, upon which microcircuits are constructed by combining various materials. Wafers are of key importance in the fabrication of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits, and appropriate for micro optical products. Wafers are custom manufactured by size and thickness for each application.