A method and apparatus for rapidly forming aporous glass preform is provided in which an array ofburners is oscillated along a path parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the preform. Unlike existingsoot deposition techniques, the oscillation amplitudeis limited so that each burner deposits soot on onlya portion of the preform, e.g., 20% of the preform.By controlling inter-burner variability and the airflow in the burner-array/preform region, preformshaving substantially uniform axial properties areobtained notwithstanding the fact that differentburners are used to laydown different parts of thepreform.
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