Sustratos de pantallas planas y discos compactos: una nueva aplicacion del vidrio

The increasing use of displays in the field of communication and the expansion of compact disc markets open a new scope for the use of glass as substrat in these products. The present manufacturing process for these substrates, polishing from drawn glass, is slow and costly and would not satisfy the demand forecast for the nineties. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new production technologies in glasses that can fill the requirements of quantity and the specifications established for these substrates. On the other hand, glass, appears at present as the most adequate material for replacing polymers (PMMA. PVC. PC. PS ...) as compact disc substractes. These applications for glass bring new demands in the manufacturing with regard to thickness, flatness and rugosity together with others of composition, alkaline content and impurities. The objective is to obtain a very thin glass (0.5 - 1 mm) with close tolerances for flatness, homogeneity and rugosity. This requires an adequation of the float process, which has the highest possibilities of making compatible the quality of the product with market demands.