Patent ID: 8067326

Claim:
Apparatus for producing a glass or a glass-ceramic, said apparatus comprising a surface adapted to contact the glass or the glass-ceramic when the glass or the glass-ceramic is in a molten state, at least a portion of the apparatus being composed of a bulk metal phosphate refractory material having a volume of at least 200 cubic centimeters that comprises at least 90 volume percent of a phase which consists essentially of Re 2 O 3 .P 2 O 5 , wherein Re 2 O 3 is Y 2 O 3 , Sc 2 O 3 , Er 2 O 3 , Lu 2 O 3 , Yb 2 O 3 , Tm 2 O 3 , Ho 2 O 3 , Dy 2 O 3 , Tb 2 O 3 , Gd 2 O 3 , or a combination of two or more thereof.