A foldable display with a foldable glass window came out.
Samsung Display announced on February 19 that it has succeeded in commercializing Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) that uses ultra-thin tempered glass as the industry's first cover window material for foldable devices.
UTG is 30 micrometers (μm, 1/1 millionth of a meter) and is completed after strengthening the process that increases flexibility and durability of thin-processed glass. In the process, it is known that the core technology is to inject super thin glass with special materials that are above a certain depth to ensure uniform rigidity.
Samsung Display has been working with South Korean material manufacturers since 2013 to commercialize UTG.
Samsung Display's UTG was first applied to the Galaxy Z Flip unveiled by Samsung Electronics on Feb. 11, and will be applied to various foldable devices in consideration of future customer demand.
Samsung Display has applied for trademarks in 38 countries around the world including the U.S., European Union, and China under the brand 'SAMSUNG UTG' and is also preparing to apply for a trademark cover window of existing polyimide materials.
The "SAMSUNG UTG" features the rigid properties of glass and the flexibility to fold it while keeping the smooth touch and uniformity of the surface intact. Samsung Display described such characteristics as "Tough, yet Tender" inside its brand logo.
Samsung Display, meanwhile, received verification of UTG durability from Bureau Veritas, a French technology certification company.
Bureau Veritas said Samsung Display's folding test, which folds and unfolds 200,000 UTGs, also has no problem with quality.
"As Samsung Display has mass-produced 'SAMSUNG UTG' cover windows with polyimide materials, it has satisfied customers' diverse needs for foldable displays and expanded their choices," said Choi Soon-ho, head of marketing team at Samsung Display's small and medium business division.
