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Gorilla Glass is a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its seventh generation. Designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant, the glass gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and crack-resistance by being immersed in a hot,
potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmos ...
-
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
,
ion-exchange Ion exchange is a reversible interchange of one kind of ion present in an insoluble solid with another of like charge present in a solution surrounding the solid with the reaction being used especially for softening or making water demineralised, ...
bath. As a brand, Gorilla Glass is specific to Corning, but close equivalents exist, including
AGC Inc. , formerly Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.'(旭硝子株式会社), is a Japanese global glass manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the largest glass company in the world and one of the core Mitsubishi companies. The company is listed on ...
's Dragontrail and Schott AG's Xensation. The
alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...
- aluminosilicate sheet glass is used primarily as cover glass for portable electronic devices, including
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
s,
smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. Whil ...
es,
portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
s, portable computer displays, and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
screens. It is manufactured in Harrodsburg, Kentucky; in
Asan Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas. Asan has grown int ...
, South Korea; and in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
. In October 2017, some five billion devices globally contained Gorilla Glass. While dominating its market, Gorilla Glass faces varying competition from rivals such as Dragontrail and synthetic sapphire.


Background and development

Corning experimented with chemically strengthened glass in 1960 as part of a "Project Muscle" initiative. Within a few years they had developed a "muscled glass" marketed as ''Chemcor''. The product was used until the early 1990s in commercial and industrial applications, including automotive, aviation and pharmaceutical uses, notably in approximately one hundred 1968
Dodge Dart Dodge Dart is a line of automobiles marketed by Dodge from the 1959 to 1976 model years in North America, with production extended to later years in various other markets. The Dart name originally appeared on a 1956 Chrysler show car featuring ...
and
Plymouth Barracuda The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Plymouth from 1964 to 1974. The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 to 1966. A two-door hardtop (no B-pillar) fastback de ...
racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
s, where minimizing the vehicle's weight was essential. Experimentation was revived in 2005, investigating whether the glass could be made thin enough for use in consumer electronics. Although not called Gorilla Glass at the time, it was brought into commercial use with the launch of the new iPhone in June 2007. The iPhone that
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...
revealed in January 2007 still featured a plastic display. The day after he held up the plastic iPhone on stage, Jobs complained about scratches that had developed on the phone's display after carrying it around in his pocket.
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
then contacted Corning and asked for a thin, toughened glass to be used in its new phone. The scratch-resistant glass that shipped on the first-generation iPhone would eventually come to be known as Gorilla Glass, officially introduced in February 2008. Corning further developed the material for a variety of
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...
s and other consumer electronics devices for a range of companies. Corning markets the material's primary properties as its high scratch-resistance (protective coating) and its hardness (with a
Vickers hardness test The Vickers hardness test was developed in 1921 by Robert L. Smith and George E. Sandland at Vickers Ltd as an alternative to the Brinell method to measure the hardness of materials. The Vickers test is often easier to use than other hardness ...
rating of 622 to 701), which allows the glass to be thin without being fragile. The glass can be recycled. In December 2015,
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
announced that it would be the first to use the material for a windshield and rear window on its Ford GT sports car beginning in 2016; it later spread to mainstream models such as the Ford F-150 and
Jeep Wrangler The Jeep Wrangler is a series of compact and mid-size four-wheel drive off-road SUVs manufactured by Jeep since 1986 and is currently in its fourth generation. The Wrangler JL, the most recent generation, was revealed in late 2017 and is produ ...
.


Manufacture

During its manufacture, the glass is toughened by ion exchange. The material is immersed in a
molten Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the application of heat or pressure, which ...
alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...
potassium salt In chemistry, a salt is a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge. A common example is table salt, with positively cha ...
at a temperature of approximately , wherein smaller
sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
ions in the glass are replaced by larger
potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmos ...
ions from the salt bath. The larger ions occupy more volume and thereby create a surface layer of high residual compressive stress, giving the glass surface increased strength, ability to contain flaws, and overall crack-resistance, making it resistant to damage from everyday use.


Generations

The first generation of Gorilla Glass was introduced on February 8, 2008. By 2010, the glass had been used in approximately 20% of mobile handsets worldwide, about 200 million units. The second generation, called "Gorilla Glass 2", was introduced on January 9, 2012. It is 20% thinner than the original Gorilla Glass. In October 2012, Corning announced that over one billion mobile devices used Gorilla Glass. Gorilla Glass 3 was introduced at
CES 2013 CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
on January 7. According to Corning, the material is up to three times more scratch-resistant than the previous version, with enhanced ability to resist deep scratches that typically weaken glass. Promotional material for Gorilla Glass 3 claims that it is 40% more scratch-resistant, in addition to being more flexible. The design of Gorilla Glass 3 was Corning's first use of atomic-scale modeling before the material was melted in laboratories, with the prediction of the optimal composition obtained through the application of rigidity theory. The first phone to use Gorilla Glass 3 was the Samsung Galaxy S4 in 2013. When Gorilla Glass 3 was announced, Corning indicated that areas for future improvements included reducing reflectivity and susceptibility to fingerprint smudges, and changing surface treatments and the way the glass is finished. Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass, with antibacterial ionic silver incorporated into its surface, was introduced and demonstrated at CES in January 2014. Gorilla Glass 4 was introduced on November 20, 2014. It has better damage resistance and capability to be made thinner with the same performance as its predecessor. It was first used on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha in 2014. Gorilla Glass 5 was introduced on July 20, 2016. It offers better resistance to cracking from drops and was first used on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in 2016. Gorilla Glass SR+ was introduced on August 30, 2016. It was designed for wearable mobile devices, focusing on toughness, scratch resistance and optical clarity. It was first used on the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch in 2016. Gorilla Glass 6 was introduced on July 18, 2018. It has the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 5, but is designed to withstand multiple drops from even greater heights. It was first used on the Samsung Galaxy S10 in 2019. Gorilla Glass DX and DX+ were introduced on July 18, 2018, following the launch of Gorilla Glass 6. An extension of Gorilla Glass SR+, Gorilla Glass DX features enhanced antireflective optics with the same scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass, while Gorilla Glass DX+ provides enhanced antireflective optics with superior scratch resistance. While primarily intended for wearable mobile devices, developments were underway to adapt these new glass composites to larger form-factor devices. Gorilla Glass DX+ was first used on the Samsung Galaxy Watch in 2018. Gorilla Glass Victus was introduced on July 23, 2020. As the successor to Gorilla Glass 6, it improves both drop and scratch performance and is claimed by Corning to be twice as scratch resistant as its predecessor. It was first used on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in 2020. In July 2021, Corning announced that they will bring its Gorilla Glass DX and DX+ glass composites to cover smartphone camera lenses and said that
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
would be the first customer to adopt them for their smartphone cameras. The first Samsung phones to use Gorilla Glass DX protection for the cameras were the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in 2021. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 was introduced on November 30, 2022. The second-generation Victus has a new composition for improved drop performance on rough surfaces like concrete. In terms of scratch resistance, it is said to be similar to its predecessor.


Related products

On October 26, 2011, Corning announced the commercial launch of Lotus Glass, designed for
OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
and next-generation LCD displays. The intrinsic thermal consistency of 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 reduce stress and distortions to the substrate. This enables tighter design rules in advanced backplanes for higher resolution and faster response time. According to Corning, Gorilla Glass is specifically a cover glass for the exterior of display devices while Lotus Glass is designed as a glass substrate to be used within liquid crystal display panels. In other words, a single product could incorporate both Gorilla Glass and Lotus Glass. On February 2, 2012, Corning Incorporated and
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
Mobile Display Co., Ltd. signed an agreement to establish a new equity venture for the manufacture of specialty glass substrates for the
OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
device market in Korea. The joint venture is based on Lotus Glass. Lotus XT Glass became available in 2013. In 2012, Corning introduced Willow Glass, a flexible glass based on borosilicate glass, launched for use as a display substrate.


See also

*
Overflow downdraw method The overflow downdraw method or fusion method is a technique for producing ''flat glass''. The key advantage of this technique as compared to the float glass process is that the pristine surfaces are not touched by molten tin. The technique is us ...
* Tempered glass


References


External links

*
Lotus Glass product page
at Corning * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorilla Glass American brands American inventions Corning Inc. Glass applications Glass engineering and science Glass trademarks and brands Materials science