The Future is Thin
Just as Corning introduced large-size glass for larger LCD TVs, the company is now at the forefront of creating thinner glass substrates for today’s mobile devices. As the first to commercialize 0.5 mm glass, Corning is currently extending its capacity to produce 0.4 mm and thinner glass.
Today, there are several ways to achieve thinner glass – polishing or etching a thicker substrate down to size, or creating substrates that are thin to begin with. Corning’s proprietary fusion process is uniquely suited to creating thin glass, with no fundamental limit on how thin the glass can go.
“Direct input of thin glass allows the pristine fusion surface to be maintained through the display process, providing benefits for the end market consumer as well as the panel maker,” said Lori Hamilton, director, commercial technology.
Throughout the value chain, there are many reasons to begin with thinner substrates. For device manufacturers, the elimination of etching time and the avoidance of chemical etchants is a potential cost reduction. For retailers, thin and lightweight devices equate to fewer packaging materials and less transportation waste, which benefits the environment. And for end market consumers, thinner and lighter glass means improved device portability and versatility.
While there are many prospective advantages to ultra-thin glass, the migration to thin substrates does pose practical challenges. For instance, forming thin glass requires advanced controls in order to maintain dimensional, thermal and surface cleanliness requirements, and as each panel is cut, edge finished and washed, it must maintain these stringent attribute requirements.
“We’ve learned a great deal over the years about handling thin glass at large size, so now we are applying some of the things we have learned about large-size glass to even thinner substrates of smaller sizes,” said Jill VanDewoestine, program manager, thin substrates.
Corning is working with color filter and TFT process equipment suppliers to manage cutting technology and edge strength requirements and create a model for thin glass handling. The company is also working with panel makers to address the limitations of today’s manufacturing equipment, identifying the necessary enhancements for processing even thinner displays.
“With our modeling and engineering capabilities, we’ve been able to anticipate and overcome these challenges,” said Hamilton. “By applying our capabilities for substrate developments as well as our technical skills for product application, we are not only delivering thinner substrates, but also the technical services to enable the trend to thinner displays.”
Looking ahead, Corning’s advancements in thinner glass substrates are paving the way for emerging display technologies, such as 3-D TV. Ultra-thin glass substrates remove the parallax problems that can plague 3-D technologies based on polarization. Corning is also developing thin and flexible glass, which will benefit e-Paper devices. “This is extremely thin glass—about the thickness of three sheets of copy paper, stacked,” said VanDewoestine.
As the industry evolves toward thinner input glass, the real winners are consumers, who will enjoy devices that are more portable, more stylish, and more versatile.