Apple (Apple) announced in November 2013 and Sapphire (Sapphire) Glass Manufacturers GTAT (GTAdvancedTechnologies) signed a multi-year sapphire material supply contracts , the market for Apple's next-generation iPhone, the rumors sapphire glass panel will be more rampant.

Currently smartphone screen material commonly used for Corning (Corning) of GorillaGlass, including various flagship models of mobile phones such as HTC One, Samsung Electronics (SamsungElectronics) of GalaxyS4, or Nokia (Nokia) are the Lumia1520 choose this as a protective glass screen . According to the press release noted that Corning , Corning GorillaGlass currently has 15 million units used in the device , and the numbers continued to grow .

Apple is promising screen material - sapphire, alumina (Al2O3) is composed , with anti -corrosion , high hardness and excellent scratch capability and other features. Mohs hardness of their ninth grade, second only to diamond , glass more scratch resistant than the average and less fragmentation.

According to the University of Alberta Feder (AlfredUniversity) Dean MatthewHall research , sapphire glass rupture toughness (fracturetoughness) Corning GorillaGlass about four times , and can reduce the chance of damage incurred due to falling .

So if the phone screen with sapphire glass panel , and when the phone is dropped , or other sharp objects like keys together bag, worry less about being scratched or cracked screen problem . Thus , Apple has started using sapphire glass covering the iPhone5, 5S after the shot and fingerprint identification key 5S , in order to protect the results.

However, because the density of the sapphire glass 3. 98g/cm3, greater than 2. 54g/cm3 GorillaGlass therefore in the same size , the weight will be heavier sapphire glass . Further , the higher refractive index of light of the sapphire glass , thus showing a screen brightness darker than GorillaGlass .

Plus Corning GorillaGlass addition to lower cost of raw materials , production technology has a very mature product, so analysts estimate the price sapphire glass may be about 10 times the price of Corning GorillaGlass . These are planned to sapphire glass screen as factors that have to be considered.

Therefore , TechRadar website speculated Apple and GTAT cooperation , mainly in order to reduce material costs. Develop both the sapphire laminate (SapphireLaminates), bonded by means of a thin sapphire GTAT touch panel and a glass substrate (sapphire-on-glass), in addition to allowing the screen thickness is less than 1mm, and most importantly, can significantly reduce the material cost of the sapphire glass .

In addition, Apple also prepaid GTAT approximately $ 578 million , allowed the purchase of nearly 1,000 Sapphire Dan Changjing furnace (sapphirecrystalfurnaces) planned to expand production capacity to achieve economies of scale objectives.

More protection for mobile devices scratch-resistant sapphire outstanding ability to bring users , but using a sapphire glass as a screen material , some issues remain to be resolved. Including in the face of strong light , use of cover to protect the lens when taking pictures , the photos will appear purple sapphire glass halo phenomenon ; well when used outdoors , the brightness of darker issues.

TechRadar website said that perhaps the brightness of darker issues in the future after the shift to thin sapphire laminates technology can be improved, but if the sapphire glass with bright colors , even the fullness of active organic light diodes (AMOLED) with the use, perhaps will be a great combination.


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