Acid strengthening of glass

摘要

Disclosed herein are methods for strengthening glass articles having strength-limiting surface flaws, together with strengthened glass articles produced by such methods, and electronic devices incorporating the strengthened glass articles. The methods generally involve contacting the glass articles with a substantially fluoride-free aqueous acidic treating medium for a time at least sufficient to increase the rupture failure points of the glass articles.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
providing a glass article, comprising: strength-limiting surface flaws having a first shape; and a first rupture failure point; and contacting the glass article with a substantially fluoride-free aqueous acidic treating medium having a pH of less than or equal to about 3 to produce an acid-treated strengthened glass article comprising a second rupture failure point, wherein at least a subset of the strength-limiting surface flaws of the acid-treated strengthened glass article have a second shape, the contacting occurs for a time at least sufficient to render the second rupture failure point higher than the first rupture failure point, the contacting occurs for a time at least sufficient to reduce a propagation tendency of the strength-limiting surface flaws but does not reduce an average thickness of the glass article by more than about 300 nanometers, and the second shape comprises blunted cracked tips.