Alkali Borosilicate Glasses

Alkali borosilicate glasses are generally used in the electronics, chemical, and optics industries for a variety of sealing applications. Alkali borosilicate is a hard glass that is used for electrical insulators, X-ray tubes, image amplifier tubes, clad tubes for optical fibers, transmitting tubes, and more. Alkali Borosilicate glasses are also commonly used for matched seals with Kovar or Molybdenum counterparts because of their closely matched coefficient of thermal expansion.

Elan offers its 88 glass with an option to load it with alumina to improve flow and strength characteristics. This material provides high-reliability in the manufacturing of hermetic metal packages by providing greatly improved structural strength, excellent hermeticity, and reduced corrosion potential. When Elan 88 and Kovar are used in hard matched seal applications, they provide outstanding temperature stability and significantly reduce the formation of cracks within the glass, which can lead to mechanical failure.