Optical Silicon vs. Infrared Transmitting Glass
Optical silicon belongs to the non-glass optical ceramics classification, while infrared transmitting glass belongs to the glass and glass-ceramics. There are 11 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is optical silicon and the bottom bar is infrared transmitting glass.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 150 | |
| 18 to 63 |
| Flexural Strength, MPa | 300 | |
| 20 to 79 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 to 0.3 |
Thermal Properties
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 700 | |
| 360 to 430 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 150 | |
| 0.0060 to 0.23 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 3.0 | |
| 9.0 to 17 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.3 | |
| 4.4 to 4.8 |
| Refractive Index | 3.5 | |
| 1.8 to 2.1 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 35 | |
| 2.3 to 7.3 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 75 | |
| 20 to 28 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 93 | |
| 0.0029 to 0.14 |