Patent ID: 8512806

Claim:
A containment vessel for evaporating materials for use in applying a coating to a substrate which comprises: a) at least one single piece monolithic body fabricated from a refractory material, said body including a reservoir for containing material to be evaporated, and having two opposite ends with means associated at said ends to permit mechanical joining of at least two of said bodies in an end to end fashion such that the reservoirs of each said bodies are joined to provide a continuous interior space, wherein the at least one body comprises a cylindrical wall and the reservoir is provided by an inner surface of the cylindrical wall defining an axial bore in the body, and the body includes a first end portion having an annular outer surface which tapers to a smaller outer diameter and a second end portion opposite the first end portion, the second end portion having an annular inner surface which flares outwardly to a larger inner diameter such that the first end portion of one cylindrical body is configured and dimensioned to be received into the second end portion of another cylindrical body.