Asahi Glass to Roll Out Cover Glass for Smartphones, Tablet PCs

Asahi Glass Co Ltd (AGC) will release the "Dragontrail," a chemically-strengthened aluminum silicate glass for smartphones and tablet PCs.

"I expect that AGC's Dragon Legend will start," said AGC President Kazuhiko Ishimura, implying the company's high expectations of the product.

In the market for cover glasses, AGC's share seems to be about 25%. But, with the new product, the company aims to expand it to about 30% and increase sales amount to ¥300 billion (approx US$3,628 million) in 2012 and continue to increase the share after 2012.

In addition, AGC plans to sell the product as glass to be used on the front sides of LCD TVs. Through such efforts, the company intends to grow its cover glass business to the engine of its growth.

The strength of the Dragontrail is six times as high as that of normal soda-lime glass, realizing a strength, resistance to scratching and texture suited for smartphones and tablet PCs. To enhance the strength, sodium (Na) in glass is replaced with potassium (K) by immersing the glass in a chemical solution.

The glass will be produced at AGC's manufacturing plant in Osaka, Japan. At the plant, glasses for LCD panels are currently produced by using the float method, and the new glass will be produced in the same production line.

When a cover glass is made by using the float method, it becomes unnecessary to polish its surface, making the glass competitive in price and enabling to more freely decide the size of a glass plate, AGC said.