Corning Incorporated

Mahendra Kumar Misra

John T Brown

Michael Henry Wasilewski

Raymond E Lindner

Dale Robert Powers

Merrill F Sproul

Robert E McLay

Floyd E Marley

Xiaodong Robert Fu

Michael S Dobbins

David Charles Sauer

Christine E Heckle

Laura J Ball

Frederic J-y Quan

Meryle D M Adler

Burners ( ) are used to make glass bodies ( ) from OMCTS. The burners have six concentric regions. Putting certain gases through the regions results in thicker bodies than can be achieved with existing techniques and with improved efficiency.

Burners for producing boules of fused silica glass

Burners ( ) for producing fused silica boules are provided. The burners employ a tube-in-tube ( ) design with flats ( ) on some of the tubes ( ) being used to limit the cross-sectional area of certain passages ( ) within the burner and/or to atomize a silicon-containing, liquid source material, such as OMCTS. To avoid the possibility of flashback, the burner has separate passages for fuel ( ) and oxygen ( ), i.e., the burner employs nozzle mixing, rather than premixing, of the fuel and oxygen. The burners are installed in burner holes ( ) formed in the crown ( ) of a furnace and form a seal with those holes so that ambient air cannot be entrained into the furnace through the holes. An external air cooled jacket ( ) can be used to hold the temperature of the burner below a prescribed upper limit, e.g., 400&deg; C.

Sealed, nozzle-mix burners for silica deposition

Methods for producing high purity fused silica (HPFS) glass having desired levels of dissolved hydrogen are provided. The methods involve measuring the level of hydrogen in the cavity of the furnace used to produce the glass and controlling the pressure within the furnace and/or gas flows to the furnace's burners so that the measured concentration has a desired value. In this way, the level of dissolved hydrogen in the glass can be controlled since, as shown in FIG. there is a direct correlation between the hydrogen concentration in the cavity atmosphere and level of dissolved hydrogen in the glass.

Methods for producing fused silica glass

Fused silica boules ( ) having improved radial homogeneity are produced by controlling the air flow around the boule ( ) during its formation. The boule is formed in a cup-like containment vessel ( ) which collects silica particles from a plurality of burners ( ). The containment vessel ( ) rotates and oscillates relative to the burners ( ) as the boule ( ) is formed. The containment vessel ( ) is bounded by a cup-like containment wall ( ), and a shadow or air flow wall ( ) is spaced apart from and surrounds the containment wall ( ) forming a gap or air flow passage ( ) therebetween. A radially-outwardly extending deflecting wedge portion ( ) is formed at the upper extent of the containment wall ( ) and at an outlet end of flow passage ( ). An upwardly and outwardly tapered surface ( ) at the upper end of the air flow wall ( ) complements an upwardly and outwardly deflection surface ( ) formed on the deflection wedge ( ) to form a radially-outwardly and upwardly flow passage ( ) for discharging the flow from passage ( ). The radially-outwardly and upwardly directed flow passage ( ) deflects air infiltrated through the passage ( ) outwardly away from the boule ( ) so as to reduce and minimize the effects of infiltrated air on the boule.

Method and apparatus for minimizing air infiltration in the production of fused silica glass

A method for preparing high-purity, bulk fused silica includes supplying silane gas, a gaseous fuel, and oxygen gas to a combustion burner. Silica particles are formed by passing the silane gas into a flame formed by the combustion reaction of the gaseous fuel with the oxygen gas while maintaining the ratio of the flow rate of the gaseous fuel to the flow rate of the silane gas no less than twelve and the ratio of the flow rate of the gaseous fuel to the flow rate of the oxygen gas no less than three. The silica particles formed are immediately deposited onto a hot bait to form a boule.

Method for producing bulk fused silica

In furnaces for producing high purity fused silica glass boules, glass particles have a tendency to build-up adjacent the burner hole rim. It was discovered that unburned furnace gases containing silica particles where re-circulated in the furnace close to the burner hole rim and reacted with the oxygen of infiltrated air adjacent the burner hole, and thus deposited such particles in the form of a glassy build-up about the rim of the burner hole. In order to eliminate the source of oxygen adjacent the burner hole rim, a curtain of an inert gas is caused to flow through the burner hole between the sidewalls of the burner hole and the flame of the burner. Accordingly, the curtain of inert gas inhibits the combustion of the unburned hydrogen and carbon monoxide furnace gases adjacent the exit rim of the burner hole and thereby minimizes glass build-up about the burner hole rim.

Method and apparatus for preventing burner-hole build-up in fused silica processes

A method and apparatus for determining an identity of at least one constituent on a soot that is deposited on a substrate is disclosed. The method includes the steps of sending a pulse of energy toward the substrate, focusing the energy to a predetermined point on the substrate to thereby generate a plasma on the substrate and to create at least one photon, detecting the photon using an analysis element, and identifying the constituent in the soot. The method may also include the step of determining the concentration of the constituent. Furthermore, the method may be used to determine the identity and concentration of at least one reactant in a flame of a burner or a reactant stream.

Method to determine the identity of a material in an object

Fused silica boules (,) having improved radial homogeneity are produced by controlling the air flow around the boule (,) during its formation. The boule is formed in a cup-like containment vessel (,) which collects silica particles from a plurality of burners (,). The containment vessel (,) rotates and oscillates relative to the burners (,) as the boule (,) is formed. The containment vessel (,) is bounded by a cup-like containment wall (,), and a shadow or air flow wall (,) is spaced apart from and surrounds the containment wall (,) forming a gap or air flow passage (,) therebetween. A radially-outwardly extending deflecting wedge portion (,) is formed at the upper extent of the containment wall (,) and at an outlet end of flow passage (,). An upwardly and outwardly tapered surface (,) at the upper end of the air flow wall (,) complements an upwardly and outwardly deflection surface (,) formed on the deflection wedge (,) to form a radially-outwardly and upwardly flow passage (,) for discharging the flow from passage (,). The radially-outwardly and upwardly directed flow passage (,) deflects air infiltrated through the passage (,) outwardly away from the boule (,) so as to reduce and minimize the effects of infiltrated air on the boule.

Growing community of inventors

Horseheads, NY, United States of America

Mahendra Kumar Misra