Gorilla Glass Maker Corning Debuts Flexible Willow Glass
First Gorilla Glass, then Lotus Glass and now Corning is working on Willow Glass.
Most of us know Corning as the maker of Gorilla Glass, the super tough glass that's become an almost ubiquitous feature when it comes large-screened smartphones of today. Usually focused on all things tough and scratch resistant, Corning is today taking things in a different direction with the unveiling of Willow Glass, a new flexible solution aimed at ultra slim designs.
Corning says that, as well as its use in slimmer display designs, the company says the strength and flexibility means we could also see Willow Glass used in curved or wraparound displays. Willow Glass can be processed at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius, which opens up the possibility of high-temperature, continuous 'roll-to-roll' processes. Corning says these have so far been impossible. Additionally, thanks to advancements in fusion forming, they can make glass that measures just 100 microns thick, or about as thick as a regular sheet of copy paper.
"Displays become more pervasive each day and manufacturers strive to make both portable devices and larger displays thinner. Corning Willow Glass provides the substrate performance to maintain device quality in a thin and light form factor," said Dr. Dipak Chowdhury, division vice president and Willow Glass program director. "Currently manufacturing in a sheet-to-sheet process, we expect Corning Willow Glass to eventually allow customers to switch to high-throughput, efficient roll-to-roll processing, a long-awaited industry milestone."
Corning says Willow Glass is initially being launched as an advanced display substrate, however, the company is also actively working on other uses for the glass, such as in lighting and flexible solar cells. Samples of Willow Glass are shipping to companies developing new display and touch applications but full production won't begin for a while.
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Meanwhile, Apple continues to use normal glass for everything and ignores Gorilla badassery...Reply
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sacre As much as I enjoy and hate my iPhone, its delicate body pisses me off. I have to always use a case or else this thing risks being a 200+ charge on my list of already high bills. So I can't enjoy its look or natural feel, always have it wrapped up in 1000 layers of shock resistant material.Reply
Unfortunately Apple has got their company so far up their ass that the tape worms keep fending off all the things that could help make the iPhone better overall. Like this type of glass. -
WyomingKnott Is the example in the first picture being bent by the person holding it, or was it heat-formed in that shape? A video or series of snaps might help prove the point.Reply -
Solandri WyomingKnottIs the example in the first picture being bent by the person holding it, or was it heat-formed in that shape? A video or series of snaps might help prove the point.Probably being bent holding it. Regular glass is actually very flexible. It's the thickness which prevents it from flexing (the greater the thickness, the greater the elongation of the outer edge in a bend, and glass is very brittle when it comes to elongation). If you can make glass very thin, its flexibility really shows. Fiberglass and optical communications fibers are good examples of its flexibility.Reply
My concern would be what the shards are like when it breaks. Fiberglass and optical fibers can be looped into a very small radius circle. But if you make the radius smaller (like tying it in a knot), it will fracture, and the ends are rather sharp. It is still glass. In all likelihood this will have to be coated with a plastic layer like car windshield glass to prevent it from shattering into a thousand paper-thin shards with razor edges. -
chibiwings Looks Promising.. i think it can be apply on Foldable LCD or LCD that can be rolled.Reply -
nforce4max sacreAs much as I enjoy and hate my iPhone, its delicate body pisses me off. I have to always use a case or else this thing risks being a 200+ charge on my list of already high bills. So I can't enjoy its look or natural feel, always have it wrapped up in 1000 layers of shock resistant material. Unfortunately Apple has got their company so far up their ass that the tape worms keep fending off all the things that could help make the iPhone better overall. Like this type of glass.Reply
Well said, it isn't just apple but many other companies that either just don't care about quality or make a extra buck at all costs. -
jwcalla I can't believe my Galaxy S screen has yet to take on a blemish. My HP TouchPad got a nick within the first couple weeks though. Still not sure what hit it.Reply
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noreaster Paper thin glass...what will they think of next?Reply
My grandfather worked in the automotive glass industry and would be amazed to hear about this stuff.