A method includes impregnating a region of a glass sheet with a filler material in a liquid state. The glass sheet includes a plurality of glass soot particles. The filler material is solidified subsequent to the impregnating step to form a glass/filler composite region of the glass sheet.

A method includes impregnating a region of a glass sheet with a filler material in a liquid state. The glass sheet includes a plurality of glass soot particles. The filler material is solidified subsequent to the impregnating step to form a glass/filler composite region of the glass sheet.

Provided is a glass composition having an infrared absorbing function, water resistance, heat resistance, and a low expansion coefficient, the glass composition including the following components (a) to (c): (a) 0.1 wt % or more to 14.0 wt % or less of an intermediate oxide; (b) 0.1 wt % or more to 14.0 wt % or less of CuO; and (c) 80.0 wt % or more to 99.8 wt % or less of silica, in which a total of a content ratio of the intermediate oxide and a content ratio of the CuO is from 0.2 wt % or more to 20 wt % or less.

A process for producing a ceramic body (100), in particular a dental ceramic blank, having selectively adjustable degrees of expression of one or more different physical properties, wherein the ceramic body (100) has a porosity to enable the control of a selective distribution of one or more chemical substances (101, 102) that are suitable for influencing the physical properties of the ceramic body (100), and in a first step, which is a loading step, the ceramic body is loaded with one or more solutions (104) of the one or more chemical substances (101, 102). In a second step, which is a distribution step, the distribution of the one or more chemical substances (101, 102) within the porous ceramic body (100) is controlled, wherein a progression and/or a spatial progression of the degree of expression of the one or more physical properties can be produced. The control is effected by adjusting one or more ambient parameters (106) in an environment (108), in particular by adjusting the air humidity and/or the pressure and/or the temperature.

A method for the production of a polychromatic and/or spatially polychromatic or a monochrome colored ceramic body, in particular a dentine ceramic blank, which is dyed in this way, wherein in order to control a targeted distribution of color pigments (101, 102) within a porous ceramic (100), in a first step, which is a loading step (3c), the ceramic (100) is loaded with a color pigment solution (104). In a second step, which is a distribution control step (4d), the distribution of the color pigments (101, 102) within the ceramic (100) is controlled by controlling one or more environmental parameters (106) in an environment (108) and/or the pressure and/or temperature.

A highly purified quartz powder having a low level of naturally occurring lithium modified for cladding a fiber optic cable, said modified quartz powder having an increased total amount of lithium in solid solution in said powder, said increased total amount being in the range of more than 0.50 ppm and less than 1.00 ppm and a method of modifying an highly purified quartz powder to make the same.

Embodiments described herein provide for optical devices with methods of forming optical device substrates having at least one area of increased refractive index or scratch resistance. One method includes disposing an etch material on a discrete area of an optical device substrate or an optical device layer, disposing a diffusion material in the discrete area, and removing excess diffusion material to form an optical material in the optical device substrate or the optical device layer having a refractive index greater than or equal to 2.0 or a hardness greater than or equal to 5.5 Mohs.