Corning Lotus Glass toughens next-gen phone, tablet displays

updated 11:00 am EDT, Wed October 26, 2011

Corning Lotus Glass in production for mobile gear


Corning late Tuesday said it had started producing its next-generation tough glass for mobile devices. Lotus Glass has better tolerance for heat and size than earlier technology, making it an ideal fit for future smartphone and tablet displays. The screen is built with next-generation LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) LCDs and OLEDs in mind, where higher resolutions and faster refresh rates could put extra wear on previous glass.

That same tolerance also helps during the manufacturing process and would let companies merge more elements with the glass, like touch layers and the displays themselves, without worrying about bending the screen. Lotus Glass still reportedly keeps clarity and sharpness.

The new glass is in production, although Corning hasn't named its customers. Motorola's Droid RAZR and a number of others use Gorilla Glass. Apple also uses Gorilla Glass on the front of the iPhone 4 and 4S and may want to use Lotus Glass for 2012 devices. Sharp is rumored to be making LTPS displays for iPhones.


By Electronista Staff

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Previous Comments

  1. SockRolid

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2010

    +3

    "Extra wear"?

    Not sure I understand exactly what "higher resolutions and faster refresh rates could put extra wear on previous glass" means. There isn't really very much power flowing through your average smartphone LCD + touchscreen assembly.

    But hey, stronger glass is better. Yay.


  1. qazwart

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2001

    +3

    @SockRolid

    The problem isn't the heat of the display once it is built, but the manufacturing process that's needed to put more and brighter pixels onto the glass itself.

    From the Lotus Glass webpage:

    "Corning Lotus Glass is formulated to perform exceptionally well in low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) and oxide thin film transistor (TFT) backplane manufacturing environments. It’s tough enough to withstand demanding manufacturing processes, while delivering the pristine surface quality customers require. This allows for the vibrant colors and clarity OLED and LCD transmissions are known for.

    The intrinsic thermal consistency of Corning Lotus Glass allows it to retain its shape and quality during high-temperature processing. Decreased compaction and variation during the crystallization and activation step further reduces stress and distortions to the substrate. This enables tighter design rules in advanced backplanes for higher resolution and faster response time.

    The end result is a thin, portable display device that consumes less power while delivering superior picture quality."


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