New Glass Extends Life Of Lcd Screens

Schott N America's tubing business unit has developed two new glasses that it says will solve the problem of limited life expectancy of LCD screens. The problem is the backlight - a type of miniturized neon tube that makes the image on the display visible, which emits ultraviolet radiation (UV). This UV radiation damages vital plastic components inside the screen. The UV radiation responsible for the damage occurs in the invisible wavelength range between 254 and 313nm. Schott says the two new glass types, 8688 (tungsten-based) and 8271 (kovar), are the first to allow for an effective UV filter to be incorporated in the glass structure itself, within this frequency range.