1. Definition and applications of glass-ceramics

1.1 What are glass-ceramics?

A glass-ceramic is a material produced by the partial, controlled crystallization of glass. It typically contains from a few percent to over 90% by volume of crystals distributed in a vitreous matrix. By their very nature, glass-ceramics combine the properties of glass (ease of production and shaping, absence of porosity, transparency) with the specific properties (mechanical, thermal, photonic, biological, etc.) of the crystalline phase, which depend on its nature and microstructure.

Crystallization in glass has long been known. However, it was not until the 1950s that the first glass-ceramics were developed, leading to the marketing of the emblematic