Synthetic quartz glass ingot, synthetic quartz glass, and methods of manufacture thereof

Abstract

In a synthetic quartz glass ingot which is produced by vapor phase hydrolyzing or oxidatively decomposing a silica-forming starting compound in an oxyhydrogen flame such that silica growth in a direction occurs at a silica particle deposition and melting face, striae visible when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the silica growth direction are distributed periodically over the silica growth direction. The ingot can be used in the production of optical-grade high-homogeneity synthetic quartz glass elements for excimer laser applications, particularly ArF excimer laser applications, in the production of laser damage-resistant optical elements used with light sources such as excimer lasers, and in the production of UV optical fiber.