Smartphone screens are made of Gorilla Glass at this time, but sapphire could become an alternative within a few years. It's only a speculation at best now, but considering the mineral can make for scratch- and crack-resistant displays, it's a distinct possibility.
A company called GT Advanced Technologies is developing ways to make sapphire sheets thinner than a human hair, according to a MIT Technology Review reported cited by Mashable.
Sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, is the preferred material Apple uses to protect the iPhone 5 camera.
Sapphire has been cost-prohibitive as a material in displays. A sapphire display costs $30 compared to $3 for Gorilla Glass. However, analysts predict the sapphire displays will decrease in price over the next few years and could be adopted by more manufacturers.
GT Advanced Technologies is working towards lowering the costs of making sapphire sheets, Mashable reports. The company believes that it might be able to create displays that are only three or four times the cost of a Gorilla Glass display.
Sapphire is second only to diamond as the hardest mineral on the planet. It is currently used as armor on some military vehicles.
Other companies with proprietary technologies are also lowering the cost of sapphire, including Rubicon Technologies in the United States, Monocrystal in Russia, and Sapphire Technology in South Korea, according to MIT Technology Review.
If costs can get low enough, these manufacturers may have a large market waiting for them. But they'll have to continue to contend with the incumbent technologies-Gorilla Glass and similar materials offered by other manufacturers. This year Corning introduced a new version of the material that it says is about twice as resistant to scratches. It could be in products later this year.
