Corning Blows Dust Off 1960s Glass Tech To Find Gold

Plans to exploit its Gorilla Glass came to light when Corning CFO Jim Flaws said during the company's second-quarter financial presentation that investors have not given Coring enough credit for the product, according to a report by Barron's.

Gorilla Glass, also known by the less-exciting "Chemcor" name, is a protective window that can be used in a variety of high-end display devices including cell phones, laptop and tablet computers, and mobile devices. It is available in thicknesses ranging from 0.5mm up to 2.0mm.

The Gorilla Glass aluminosilicate glass is produced using a proprietary fusion-draw process which Corning said produces uniformly thin sheets that can be scaled in size. The product is finished with a chemical strengthening process to make it a durable, scratch-resistant LCD cover, Corning said.

Gorilla Glass was originally developed from a project begun in 1960, and was first publically demonstrated in 1962, according to a Corning timeline on the technology.

It was used in a number of products from the 1960s to the 1990s, and Corning in 2005 started looking at potential applications in mobile devices. Last year saw its adoption by such companies as LG, Samsung, Motion Computing, and Dell.

Corning said Gorilla Glass is applicable for a number of uses. For instance, it can be used to produce thinner and lighter laptop PC displays, durable and scratch-resistant glass covers for handheld devices and touch screens, and lightweight bezel-free LCD televisions.