Tech Briefs Magazine - April 2021 - 39

masks, this material works well against the
virus; in addition to trapping the virus in a
mask, this would make for better PPE and
prolong its life.
Another unique advantage of this
material is that unlike traditional disinfectant products, it is shown to not wash

away with water and leaves no toxic
residue as a result of the photodegradation process. The material could be
added into masks and other PPE,
changing the game for businesses such
as gyms, airlines, cruise ships, groceries,
healthcare facilities, schools, and many

more industries. In addition to coronavirus, these products could also help
eliminate infections by the common
cold, seasonal flu, and other viral and
bacterial infections.
For more information, contact Rachel
Whitt at rwhitt@unm.edu; 505-277-5627.

Low-Cost Strengthened Glass Substrates
These glass substrates can be used for displays on smartphones and tablets and for other
durable, impact-resistant applications.
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

lass substrates that have enhanced
strength and durability are in high
demand for use in handheld devices and
electronic displays. Currently, glass
strengthening is achieved using alkali
ion-exchange techniques, where hightemperature molten-salt baths are used
to produce a thick surface layer under
compression that suppresses crack formation and fracture propagation.
While effective, this technique presents high costs and notable limitations
for industry: long exchange times in
molten alkali salt baths limit surface
compression values, the bath-aging
effect of molten salts can result in undesirable variations in batch uniformity,
and high temperatures increase manufacturing costs. Together, these factors
prompt the search for improved glass
strengthening techniques.

Researchers have developed a more
efficient thermal process for strengthening glass substrates for smartphones,
smartwatches, tablets, and other durable, impact-resistant applications. Instead of using pure alkali salts, this
approach uses eutectic alkali salt mixtures and employs thick film coating
methodology to deposit the needed salt
mixtures. Due to lower melting points,
the eutectic coating facilitates alkali-ion
exchange at lower temperatures, thereby reducing production costs.

Since this method does not reuse the
alkali metal coating, it affords improvements in batch uniformity and quality
over industry-standard molten-salt bath
processes. This technique may also be
useful for simultaneously strengthening
and curving a glass substrate as well as
for strengthening thin or moderate
thickness substrates - promising features and characteristics that offer versatility for new and emerging applications.
For more information, contact Heather
Clark at hclark@sandia.gov; 505-844-3511.

The glass substrates can be used for displays in
handheld devices such as smartphones.

Tech Briefs, April 2021

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Tech Briefs Magazine - April 2021

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