Corning launches Gorilla Glass DX and DX+ to create better mobile phone cameras

At a certain point In 2019, phone Buyers started to accept only ugly camera modules. The very good photos taken by these cameras prove that their spherical three-eye or six-eye design is reasonable. And in 2020, the bigger ills in society are more important than the anger over the bumps of a postage stamp-sized camera.

However, where consumers see bulky camera modules, glass maker Corning sees an opportunity.Corning now manufactures Gorilla Glass Covering almost all high-end smartphones, noticed that the latest smartphone camera designs are more prone to scratches, not only because of the enlarged surface area of ​​the lens module, but also because of the way the lens protrudes from the phone. When enough scratches appear on the lens, the photo quality will begin to suffer. It turns out that there is a glass.

Corning today announced its latest composite material: a new version of Gorilla Glass optimized for smartphone camera lenses. A new type of composite material called Gorilla Glass DX and DX+ already exists technically; in July 2018, the company launched this product for the surface of smart watches, touting its “enhanced optical clarity, sunlight Readability, excellent toughness and scratch resistance”.But Corning had to reformulate DX and DX+ composites for smartphones so that it can claim a certain degree of scratch resistance No Sacrifice photo and video quality-essentially, to maximize optical clarity while also improving durability.

“We see that the requirements for better light management are beginning to appear in several different vertical equipment areas,” said Scott Forester, Corning’s vice president of marketing and innovation for Gorilla Glass. “As smartphone camera systems became more and more complex, all these lenses and the protruding parts far away from the camera caused scratches. [Manufacturers] I once said,’Well, I can’t use anti-reflective film there, so I only need to deal with what I was there today,’ mainly glass. “

Forester went on to describe how the properties of this composite material make it more suitable for smartphone camera cover lenses. Normally, the cover lens has an anti-reflective coating to reduce glare, but only allows about 95% of the available light to reach the camera’s sensor. Corning claims that this new version of DX and DX+ for smartphone lenses enables the camera to capture 98% of the light while still maintaining the scratch resistance of standard Gorilla Glass. (It also claims that DX+ products are close to the scratch resistance of sapphire glass, a synthetic material known for its durability, transparency, and increased cost of gadgets.)

Corning declined to disclose the specific phone models that will launch Gorilla Glass DX or DX+. Consistent with its past behavior, Corning will not comment on the nature of its cooperation with Apple. It does indicate that Samsung will be the first customer to use Gorilla Glass DX for its smartphone camera lens caps.Samsung is At least five new products are expected to be released next month The annual summer Unpacked event may include folding phones and new wearable devices; although Corning has not confirmed this, it is also likely to be the official launch of this new Corning product.

Corning is not the only manufacturer hoping to improve smartphone photos through technology aimed at improving the lens rather than the image sensor-regardless of whether the improvement may be incremental. Julian Chokkattu of WIRED wrote earlier this year A startup company called Metalenz, It replaces the common multiple camera lens stacks with a single lens built on a tiny glass wafer.