Transparent ceramics do not necessarily have excellent optical quality. In general, transparent ceramics are of a quality level that allows the surrounding scenery to be clearly observed through the material, and most transparent ceramics have a scattering loss that is 102 to 106 times larger than that of single crystals.

Optical-grade ceramics are ceramics with an optical loss of about 0.1%/cm, excellent uniformity, and optical performance equal to or greater than that of single crystals.