Smartphone displays could get a diamond treatment by 2019

With the introduction of the Gorilla Glass technology, Corning managed to improve the durability of the glass panels that cover the touchscreens of consumer mobile devices nowadays. However, Corning is not the only one to offer screen protection of this kind. Akhan Semiconductor is another US-based company that promises even tougher glass panels that are made of diamond. Akhan has been trying to promote this solution since 2016, but the market is still using Gorilla Glass for some reason.

Dubbed Miraj Diamond, the Akhan glass panels makes use of lab-grown diamond thin-film that is said to be more than 6 times stronger, 10 times harder and as much as 800 times cooler than Gorilla Glass 5. The improved hardness does not mean it is more durable, as it can shatter easier than the Corning solution, but it is more resistant to scratches. The idea here is to put the thin-film diamond layer on top of the already tough Gorilla Glass to add more resistance to scratches.

Akhan is already working with an unnamed smartphone maker in order to integrate its Miraj Diamond glass for the first time in commercially available smartphone models by 2019. Unfortunately, the production cost for the diamond thin-film is not that low, so this technology may only be integrated with high-end smartphone models.

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