LG Chem has announced a new cover window for foldable IT devices, dubbed ‘Real Folding Window’, that uses specially developed coating materials to make the surface as hard as glass but the folding parts as flexible as plastic.
The ‘Real Folding Window’ that LG Chem developed coated a new material at a thickness of a few dozen micrometers (㎛) on both sides of PET film, which is a type of thin plastic, to enhance heat-resistance and mechanical properties of plastic materials. It is thinner compared to existing tempered glass and has the same hardness, but no cracking on the screen.
An LG spokesperson said, “Unlike existing polyimide films and tempered glass-type materials, the cover window that applied LG Chem’s new coating technologies will maximize flexibility, while also providing optimized solutions for foldable phones such as making improvements to chronic issues like fold impressions on the connecting part of the screen.”
Pricing is reportedly superior to existing polyimide film and durability is maintained over more than 200,000 folds. LG Chem also says it has made significant improvements to the fold lines that occur.
In particular, while currently commercialized cover windows are optimized for in-folding methods in which the screen folds inwards, LG Chem’s ‘real folding window’ has the advantage that it can also be used for out-folding methods where the screen folds outwards.
LG plans to procure mass production abilities by 2022 and begin full-scale sale of the product from 2023.
Source link
