Quartz glass has both transparent and opaque quartz glass. Transparent and opaque quartz glass is the most cost-effective material for industrial and scientific research. The raw materials used in the manufacture (using the smelting method) are crystal or high purity, ultra-high pure quartz sand (transparent quartz glass) and white quartz sand (opaque quartz glass). These two kinds of raw materials are present in nature, its composition is the most pure composition of SiO2.

Quartz glass and crystal have the same chemical composition, but are structurally different. One is glassy and the other is crystalline. Crystal can not withstand the high temperature thermal shock, it will be broken at high temperatures and into other crystal metamorphosis, and quartz glass can withstand the very high temperature impact. The manufacture of transparent quartz glass and opaque quartz glass is required to proceed at high temperatures because crystalline SiO2 can melt at above 1713 °C.