Silica glass composition

Abstract

A silica glass composition having silica and a binder is provided. The binder is methylcellulose or a polymer comprising repeating units represented by the formula (1): (—CH2—CH(OR)—)  (1) where R is a C1-C12 alkyl group or is the acetyl group. The silica glass composition according to the present invention includes a binder cheaper than the conventional polyethyloxazoline and is not hazardous to humans. The air bubbles removing efficiency can be enhanced by reducing the viscosity of the sol, and the content of solid in the sol can be increased by using the silica glass composition according to the present invention. Also, the strength of the wet gel is increased allowing the gel to be easily handled in a subsequent process. The silica glass composition according to the present invention can be used in manufacturing silica glass for a semiconductor device and an optical lens as well as a tube for optical fiber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.