Almost 50 Years Later, Gorilla Glass Finally Is a SuccessAlmost 50 Years Later, Gorilla Glass Finally Is a Success
August 12, 2010

In 1960, Corning told its top researcher to develop a glass that wouldn’t break. The result was a product called Chemcor that withstood 100,000 pounds of pressure per square inch.Efforts to commercialize the product pretty much failed, however, for a variety of reasons.
That is until new requirements emerged from electronics manufacturers in the last five years. First, cell phone manufacturers wanted a glass that could replace polycarbonate, which is subject to scratching. Engineers and scientists at Corning saw an opportunity for the super-strong glass, now redubbed “Gorilla Glass”. They developed new technology allowing the material to be made thin enough for cell phone covers, and protective covers for liquid crystal displays, notebooks, GPS devices, portable music players, smart phones and other devices. Gorilla glass can be produced in thicknesses of less than one millimeter.
In March, Corning announced that that Gorilla glass has been designed into the LG X300, a premium mobile PC, enabling a unique edge-to-edge cover design that allows the device to remain thin and lightweight.
In July, Corning approved a capital expenditure to expand the company’s LCD glass and Gorilla glass manufacturing with an $800 million plant in China.
Chemical strengthening in Gorilla glass is achieved through an ion-exchanged process that creates a compression layer on the surface of the glass substrate. Corning says that the compressive layer provides an armor which reduces the propagation of flaws - created either in productive processes or by end users.
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