Preparation of fused silica glass micropatterns via gel method using quartz fiber as reinforcer

The preparation of fused silica glass with microstructural patterns has attracted considerable interest, and the process chain of using nano-silica powders mixed with organic polymers to prepare composites for molding, degreasing, and sintering provides a good solution. However, the potential negative effects of organic residues cannot be avoided. In this study, a pattern stencil replication method with silica gel using high-purity quartz fibers as reinforcement is proposed for preparing micropatterned fused silica glass. The microscopic morphology and mechanical properties before and after silica gel drying and the optical properties of fused silica glass obtained by sintering were evaluated via transmission electron microscopy), three-point bending strength test, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrum analysis, ultraviolet-visible and infrared measurements. The results showed that quartz fiber as a reinforcer could shorten the drying time of the gel and did not degrade the quality of the fused silica glass obtained by sintering. Laser confocal test results showed that microlens arrays were generated by template replication, demonstrating the feasibility of molding fused silica lens arrays with small feature sizes and providing new ideas for the preparation of bulk fused silica glass or micropatterned glass.