Corning has been a leader in the display glass material market for many years and the company has worked hard to stay ahead by adding new and improved materials. The latest addition is Iris, a high transmissive glass aiming to provide an alternative for plastic light guide panes.
According to Corning’s press release, Iris is a glass specifically developed for the use in a light guide plate. So far, plastic sheets have been used because of their high transmissivity, allowing edge-lit display modules. Iris is not only able to match the high transmissivity but allows also for better color reproduction compared to other glass types. Corning has not yet released data sheets, but has released the following video about the new material.
The video explains that the material will not only provide the viewer with improved color reproduction, but also allows for a sleeker TV design overall.
The design advantage for using glass as a light guide plate (LGP) stems from the higher stiffness and lower thermal expansion. While the higher stiffness allows the TV manufacturer to get rid of internal mechanical structures supporting the plastic plate, the lower thermal expansion allows for the design of a TV with a smaller bezel. Both together make for a thinner TV that Corning believes will enable it to satisfy the consumer trend of the super thin TV on the wall.
Corning stated that Iris is a new proprietary glass type specifically developed for the light guide application. The company also said that the sheets are produced by the fusion process, the same as Eagle and other display glass types.
As an example of what is possible, Corning cooperated with Sakai Display Products Corporation (SDP) to show a 70″ ultra narrow bezel 4K display prototype using the Iris LGP at CES 2015. Unfortunately the provided link to SDP in the Corning press release does not contain any news on this specific display module.
There is no clear statement about the cost of the Iris LPG compared to the plastic solution, but I guess that the pure panel cost is higher for the Iris glass plate. However, the overall solution could still be cost competitive depending on the price difference.
Corning also announced that its antimicrobial Gorilla Glass is being used in mobile pay stations from Clover, a mobile pay station solution that we have seen before. The solution for mobile pay stations will benefit a lot from the use of anti-microbial materials in public places. Now if it could also deter a virus, that would make it even more attractive during the flu season.
- Source: Clover
The other highlights of Corning’s offering for the display industry focus on Gorilla Glass 4, which was released earlier in 2014 and optical cables for the consumer space. Corning is offering optical cable solutions for USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectivity for quite some time as a lightweight and rugged alternative to copper-based solutions. – Norbert Hildebrand
