Gorilla Glass: reliable insurance for modern electronics

In this article we will talk about the technology of creating Gorilla Glass, which has become one of the trends in the world of mobile innovations. We will also get acquainted with the results of tests of this powerful coverage, carried out both by the company and the users themselves, as well as the prospects for the development of this technology.

The life of a modern person is hard to imagine without gadgets. We are surrounded by smartphones, tablets, MP3-players, laptops and other mobile devices. New technologies do not stand still, every year making our portable toys smaller, thinner, lighter and more durable. Each manufacturer seeks to attract customers not only with the technical characteristics and design of its products, but also with technologies that allow to extend the life of devices, since mobile devices of the device are under serious load during daily use. Not the last role in this plays a shock-resistant and scratch-resistant coating on the device screens.

Who has not heard today about Gorilla Glass - heavy-duty glass, developed by Corning and protecting the displays of mobile devices from many famous manufacturers? Products of the company are striking in their characteristics, especially scratch and impact resistance. At the same time, the glass is very thin, and, consequently, light. This gives two advantages - Gorilla Glass does not interfere with the correct operation of the touchscreen, and also does not burden the device with its mass.

Various types of high-strength glass from Corning were installed on 4.5 billion devices, more than 40 different brands use Gorilla Glass in their products. But at the expense of what is the famous Corning glass manufactured superior to the products of competing companies? What distinguishes it from other types of glass used for various gadgets? What makes the acclaimed Gorilla Glass one of the trends in the modern world of mobile technologies? Let's try to figure it out.
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Technology creation

To begin, let's try to uncover the secret of Gorilla Glass durability As a rule, in the industry for the manufacture of glass as raw materials used silicon dioxide, limestone and sodium carbonate. Corning uses silicon dioxide with a range of chemical additives to create its products. As a result of exposure to high temperatures (more than 1000 degrees Celsius), glass mass is produced, which contains silicon, aluminum, oxygen and sodium ions. Glass obtained from it is called aluminosilicate. For the first time, a special Corning aluminosilicate glass manufactured by the company was used to protect the touchscreen of an Apple first-generation iPhone smartphone.

The glass melt enters a special container, the bottom of which has a cross section of a V-shaped form, continuously filling it. Then the glass melt, flowing over the edges of the tank, tends to flow along its sides. These streams merge into one just at the lower point of the V-shaped gutter. The glass melts from the mold and cools down in limbo. During cooling, the layer of glass melt is not exposed to any external mechanical effects, which allows to obtain a perfectly smooth, perfect surface with a thickness of 0.4 to 2 mm. A special robotized installation cuts off the finished layer of glass, after which it is sent to further stages of the production process, which are associated with its subsequent quenching, giving birth to "that" high-strength Gorilla Glass.

Ion exchange is our everything!

In order to endow glass with high characteristics of strength and resistance to scratches and cracks, it is subjected to subsequent chemical treatment, as a result of which sodium ions are replaced with larger potassium ions in the glass structure. Corning was not the pioneer of this process, and many other manufacturers have previously used (and continue to use) ion exchange for glass hardening, but it was the creators of Gorilla Glass who managed to find the golden formula that gives the perfect result for today.

To effect ion exchange, aluminosilicate glass layers are placed in a salt bath with potassium ions heated to 400 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the ionic bonds of sodium are destroyed and the ions are released. At the same time, potassium, as a heavier element in the periodic table, is capable of forming ionic bonds, replacing the released sodium. Potassium ions have a larger radius, so after cooling the glass, they with greater force press against each other, creating a compressive stress, thanks to which the surface is characterized by increased strength and resistance to external influences. In addition, during the ion exchange process, silicon ions also penetrate deep into the glass layer, strengthening it throughout the thickness.

Testing: not so simple

In their tests, Corning, as a rule, gives a comparison of the results obtained when testing our own samples of Gorilla Glass and competitors' aluminosilicate glass, as well as soda-lime glass. By all measures, the company's products exceed the samples compared with them.

In one of the latest video tests published by the company, the resistance to the fall of devices protected by the latest version of Gorilla Glass 4 was tested. The tests were conducted on a special installation that simulated a device falling from a height of up to one meter to the most dangerous surface for gadgets that no one would want to meet. mobile device - asphalt. As a result, it was found that after falling on the screen, the glass cracks two times less than the aluminosilicate glass of competing brands. According to the experts of the Corning company with such a fall, the screen of the device survives in 80% of cases. However, no matter how consoling these results are, you should not forget that the glass of Gorilla Glass can be completely broken, which is what most people who want to attract traffic to their video blog achieve. This technology can significantly extend the life of the device and reduce the likelihood of damage to the screen, but not completely protect it. For example, when a steel ball weighing more than 500 grams from a height of 180 cm is dropped, a sample of Gorilla Glass 0.7 mm thick remains intact, despite the fact that for standard tests a ball up to 130 grams in weight is used, and its height is 100 cm.

Gorilla Glass and mobile devices

Corning ruggedized glass is used in devices from a large number of famous brands, including Sony, Samsung, LG, Lenovo, and even Apple.

Samsung has provided Gorilla Glass 4 with a whole army of models of its smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge with a curved display and a glass back panel. Crash tests carried out by one initiative user showed that when the device falls onto the asphalt from a height of about one and a half meters, the glass remains intact. However, when the cover or screen falls, cracks occur, which affects the aesthetic appearance of the device, but does not affect the functions of the display itself. This is clearly seen in the video:

However, in this case, it would be unfair to blame the company for misinformation - when officially tested, the devices fell from a height of one meter, and most of them survived this execution. Google Good Corporation also pays tribute to this technology by providing its partnerships with Gorilla Glass 4 screens. Corning itself reports that currently various types of Gorilla Glass have been used in more than 1000 different smartphone models. In particular, they are equipped with popular devices from the Asian titans of the mobile industry: Huawei Nexus 6P and LG Nexus 5X , as well as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge already mentioned above.

Development prospects

It cannot be denied that Gorilla Glass technology is most popular in mobile devices, and with the growth of their popularity, Corning revenues are also growing. Different types of Gorilla Glass protect displays of smartphones, tablets, laptops and many other mobile devices. But the company doesn’t think to stop at this - large-format glass is already being delivered to protect TV screens, electronic information boards and interactive displays. In addition, Gorilla Glass is slowly but surely making its way into the automotive industry. The company believes that this product has great potential, and the use of such glass for wind, rear and side windows in cars would not only increase their safety, but also reduce their mass. Currently, Ford intends to be a pioneer in the "test of battle" technology, new to the automotive industry, by installing front and rear glass Gorilla Glass in a Ford GT supercar.