What's it about?

CLEARCERAM®-Z, CLEARCERAM®-Z HS and CLEARCERAM®-Z (T008) are ultra-low thermal expansion materials. This paper gives a comparison of their thermal properties as well as their manufacturability using traditional grinding and polishing methods.

1. INTRODUCTION TO CLEARCERAM®-Z HS and CLEARCERAM®-Z (T008)

CLEARCERAM®-Z was originally developed as an ultra-low thermal expansion material. The thermal expansion of this material, while very low, does not actually represent a true zero expansion material. This also holds true for alternative materials in the marketplace such as fused silica and other low expansion materials. The CLEARCERAM®-Z HS and CLEARCERAM®-Z (T008) were developed in an attempt to reduce the thermal expansion and approach a true zero expansion material. A comparison of some key characteristics is shown below in Table 1.