If the cooling can be done sufficiently quickly, it would be cheaper to make this stuff using a technique that Corning (maker of about 13% of all glass fiberopt

If the cooling can be done sufficiently quickly, it would be cheaper to make this stuff using a technique that Corning (maker of about 13% of all glass fiberoptics) has used for quite some time: producing it at the top of a tower and letting it drop and cool in free fall.