James Joseph Price

Hardness, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness bulk properties in Corning calcium fluoride

Knoop and Vickers hardness, Youngs Modulus, and fracture toughness measurements were performed on Cornings Code 9575 calcium fluoride in various orientations. Other commercially available sources of calcium fluoride were also measured for comparison of properties. Knoop hardness and elastic properties exhibited a dependence on orientation while no such dependence was observed for Vickers hardness and fracture toughness. The results also indicated that these physical properties were not dependent on the source of the material

Solution hardened platinum alloy flexure materials for improved performance and reliability of MEMS devices

Solution hardened platinum alloys are presented for use as a MEMS flexure material. Two Pt alloys are discussed in this work; Pt alloyed with 15% Rh and 6% Ru (known as Alloy 851) and an alloy of Pt with 10% Ir. These alloys do not require protective masking, resulting in fewer fabrication steps because the alloys can be exposed to fluorine, chlorine and oxygen plasmas as well as wet chemical etches without damage. These alloys combine many desirable properties such as biocompatibility, extreme corrosion resistance, good electrical/thermal conductivity, high Youngs modulus, high yield strength [1], low hysteresis and fatigue, and they are non-ferromagnetic. Compositional profiles for the sputtered films are described, as well as stress control during deposition. Nanoindentation experiments were performed to measure mechanical properties. The mechanical performance of these Pt alloy flexures as supports for rotating micromirror structures is described.

69.3: A Mechanics Framework for Ion‐Exchanged Cover Glass with a Deep Compression Layer

A cover glass that is capable of having a deep ion exchange compression layer enables one to tailor the glass to the intended device application. Key to this effort is having a glass mechanics framework that includes resistance to visible and strength-limiting contact damage as well as maintaining sufficient strength to survive localized glass flexing during contact events.

An indentation method for creating reproducible proof-stress level flaws in commercial optical fiber

A technique was developed for obtaining proof-stress level flaws in commercial optical fiber with low variability in strength. It involves a novel method for stabilizing and protecting the round fiber prior to indentation. Indentation was performed in an automated fashion using a nano-indenter equipped with a cube-corner indenter. A Weibull modulus of 50 was achieved with a value of 100 over the lower portion of the distribution. This method will be useful in static fatigue testing of fiber with proof test level flaws.

Vickers Indentation Cracking of Ion-Exchanged Glasses: Quasi-Static vs. Dynamic Contact

The indentation deformation and cracking responses of ion-exchanged glasses were measured using quasi-static and dynamic loading cycles. Two glass types were compared, a normal glass that deforms to a large extent by a shearing mechanism and a damage resistant glass that comparatively deforms with less shear and more densification. The quasi-static indentation cracking threshold for median/radial cracks for the ion-exchanged normal glass was determined to be 7 kilograms force (kgf), while the ion-exchanged damage resistant glass required loads exceeding 30 kgf. The increased cracking threshold of the damage resistant glass composition is attributed to the deformation mechanism, i.e. deformation with greater densification/less shear results in less subsurface damage and less residual stress. Both glass types were also subjected to dynamic indentation where the contact event time was more than 10,000 times shorter than the quasi-static condition. Under dynamic loading conditions, the cracking thresholds of the ion-exchanged normal and damage resistant glasses increased to greater than 50 kgf and greater than 150 kgf, respectively. The stress induced optical retardation was compared for quasi-static and dynamic indents made at sub-cracking threshold loads for both glasses. For indents made at the same sub-cracking threshold load in the normal glass, optical retardation mapping indicates less residual stress surrounding dynamic indents when compared to quasi-static indents. This suggests a rate dependence on the deformation mechanism in normal glasses with higher rates promoting densification in favor of shear. However, for damage resistant glass, the stress induced optical retardation is the same for indents made at both quasi-static and dynamic indentation rates.

Silicon oxynitride based scratch resistant anti-reflective coatings

Scratch resistant anti-reflective (SRAR) coatings were developed on Gorilla Glass substrates. A reactive magnetron sputtering process was employed to enable desired layer hardness and refractive index. Optical modeling was performed to determine the effective hardness of the SRAR coatings, in an effort to reduce reflectance in the visible while maintaining high scratch resistance. Scratch resistance was evaluated by using a nano-indentation test. Broadband AR coatings were realized. Potential applications of the SRAR coatings for AD optics were discussed.

Corning Incorporated: Designing a New Future with Glass and Optics

Corning Incorporated is a world leader in glass and ceramic products, and has been innovating in these materials since 1851. The company sells component-level technical products that are integrated into systems made by its customers. In most cases, those systems are significantly more efficient or in some instances fundamentally enabled by the performance of the Corning product. Corning calls its products “keystone components” for this reason. Keystone components often result from a combination of both material and process innovations, which tend to be difficult for other companies to duplicate. Developing keystone components requires patient investment in R&D (both materials and process) over long periods of time, and depends upon a culture of innovation and dedication to fundamental understanding. We highlight in this chapter three different keystone components developed by Corning in the past two decades—Corning® Gorilla® Glass for touch-enabled displays, Epic® sensors for drug discovery, and ClearCurve® optical fiber. In each case we provide an overview of Corning’s contributions to each field, describe the areas of technical challenge that still need to be addressed by the research community, and link those to the skills and capabilities that are needed to ensure further success in each.