Patent ID: 9540279
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: C03B,C03C

Claim:
1. A method of producing glass-ceramic, comprising: providing a glass made from a glass composition comprising LiO disposing the glass in a microwave processing chamber; selectively delivering microwaves into the microwave processing chamber at varying frequencies in a range from 5.4 GHz to 7.0 GHz to induce different distributions of microwave fields in the glass; heating the glass to a nucleation temperature under the influence of the induced microwave fields; maintaining the glass at the nucleation temperature under the influence of the induced microwave fields for a time period during which crystal nuclei develop in the glass; heating the glass to a crystallization temperature under the influence of the induced microwave fields; maintaining the glass at the crystallization temperature under the influence of the induced microwave fields for a time period during which at least one crystalline phase grows in the glass, thereby forming a glass-ceramic; and cooling the glass-ceramic from the crystallization temperature to room temperature, the cooling comprising an initial phase in which microwaves are applied to the glass-ceramic, wherein a temperature of the glass-ceramic drops by 5% to 20% of the crystallization temperature during the initial phase of the cooling.