This material has better hardness and crack resistance than any commercially available glass
Invention Summary:
Rutgers University researchers have developed an Al2O3 rich damage resistant glasses and glass-ceramics, which exhibit Vickers hardness of >7 GPa and do not crack at loads as high as 2000 gf (19.6 N).
The resistance to fracture is one of the most critical properties to define the applicability of oxide glasses in modern industries and infrastructure. In oxide glasses, surface flaws can lead to catastrophic failure, as tensile stress concentrated at the tips of the flaws. Although extrinsic post-processing techniques have been developed to mitigate this drawback, they come with undesirable side effects. Therefore, enhancing the intrinsic mechanical properties of glasses by compositional design has attracted more and more interest in this industry.
Rutgers researchers have designed the new glass compositions RO-Ln2O3-B2O3 (R: Mg, Ca; Ln: Y, La) with Al2O3 content varying between 30-50 mol%. The new composition can be produced at relatively lower temperature (1600-1675 oC) than existing technology (1800-2000 oC), and can be processed into transparent bodies of any shape and dimension.
Market Applications:
- Defense industry
- Electronic display
- Electronic packaging
- Construction industry
Advantages:
- High strength
- High fracture toughness
- Lower production temperature
- High plasticity
Intellectual Property & Development Status:
Patent pending. Available for licensing and/or research collaboration.
