Patent ID: 6739155
Filing Date: 2004-05-25
Classification: C03B,Y02P

Abstract:
A method for forming an elongated fused quartz article comprising:feeding a SiO2 material into a furnace melting zone comprising a refractory material wall comprising tungsten, molybdenum or mixtures thereof with a protective lining selected from the group consisting of rhenium, osmium, iridium and mixtures thereof; feeding a gas mixture comprising at least (1) one inert carrier gas comprising a member selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen carrier gas and a noble carrier gas and (2) an oxidizing gas into the protectively lined furnace melting zone; fusing the SiO2 material in the protectively lined melting zone of the furnace in the presence of the gas mixture; and drawing the fused SiO2 material from the furnace to form the fused quartz article.