Tag Archives: gorilla glass

Sharp and Microsoft both use metal-mesh ITO-replacement touch panels

September 19, 2013

I just came back from Touch Taiwan 2013 and the associated International Display Manufacturing Conference (IDMC). With about 400 exhibitors at the show, it was certainly very hot, just like the weather in Taipei.

I had a chance to touch both Sharp and Microsoft’s large size touch panel in Touch Taiwan. Both use metal mesh type ITO-replacement material on their touch panel.

Figure. Sharp metal mesh touch panel (left) and Microsoft metal mesh touch panel (right)

Sharp metal mesh touchMicrosoft metal mesh

Photo: Jennifer Colegrove, Touch Display Research Inc., 2013.

Sharp showcased a series of 20”, 32” and 70” touch panels and claim they have very high performance due to the high SNR (signal noise ratio). Microsoft’s 55” touch demo was showcased in Corning’s booth, as they used Corning’s Gorilla Glass as the cover lens.

Touch Display Research believes that metal-mesh type materials have high conductivity and could fit best on large-sized projected capacitive touch panels. We forecast the ITO-replacement market will grow to about $4 billion by 2020.

Which companies are supplying metal-mesh type transparent conductor? What’s their manufacturing process?  What’s the market share of metal-mesh vs. silver nanowire vs. carbon nanotube vs. conductive polymer vs. graphene? More analysis can be found in our ITO-replacement report and the Touch and Emerging Display monthly report.

Thanks for reading,

Jennifer and team

 

Glass War: Corning and Asahi Glass

June 13, 2013

At SID 2013 in Vancouver I had a chance to visit the booth of Asahi Glass (AGC) and talk to general manager Asano-san and assistant manager Yoshida-san.  (See picture below: Asano-san showing me the self-adhesive cover glass.)

I also visited Corning’s booth and talked to the director of marketing for Gorilla Glass––David Velasquez. (See picture below: Corning cover glass for notebook PC.) I also met Corning’s director for Willow Glass Harrison Smookler and director for Lotus Glass Christopher Hudson.

It’s very clear that these two large corporations are competing head-to-head in cover glass, ultrathin glass, LTPS/oxide TFT substrate and other areas. The battle is heating up.

Figure: SID 2013 exhibition: (left) AGC self-adhesive cover glass; (right) Corning cover glass for Notebook PC

AGC self adhesiveCorning OGS

Photo by Jennifer Colegrove

Both AGC and Corning are billion-dollar corporations. AGC is much bigger than Corning in terms of number of employees and revenue, but Corning has produced a higher net income in the last few years.

Which company is the market leader in cover glass? Who is winning the LTPS/oxide TFT substrate? Which company is leading in ultrathin glass? What’s Touch Display Research’s business strategy recommendation? A detailed analysis will be in the upcoming “Touch and Emerging Display Monthly Report”, June 2013 issue.

Thanks for reading,

Jennifer and team