Gorilla Glass, manufactured by Corning, is an alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass engineered specifically to be thin, light and damage-resistant. Its primary application is portable electronic devices with screens, such as phones and tablets. Corning experimented with chemically strengthened glass in 1960, as part of an initiative called ‘Project Muscle.’ Gorilla Glass was used in about 20 percent of the world’s approximately 200 million mobile handsets in 2010. Corning says that Gorilla Glass is RF compatible and has outstanding optical clarity, making it suitable for HD and 3-D television displays. Early in 2012, Corning announced a new version of Gorilla Glass that is 20 percent thinner, but continues to have the same scratch resistance and endurance as the original. The thinner glass will allow for greater touch sensitivity for the user.
The glass is placed in a hot bath of molten potassium salt at a temperature of approximately 400 °C (~750 °F). Smaller sodium ions leave the glass, and larger potassium ions from the salt bath replace them. These larger ions take up more room and are pressed together when the glass cools, producing a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the glass. Gorilla Glass’s special composition enables the potassium ions to diffuse far into the surface, creating high compressive stress deep into the glass. This layer of compression creates a surface that is more resistant to damage from everyday use. Like all glass, Gorilla glass can be recycled.
The Daily Omnivore 