Corning has developed 300-millimeter diameter glass wafers in select refractive indexes optimized for augmented reality (AR) device makers.

These wafers offer the largest available size of high refractive index glass on the market today.

Corning’s ultra-flat, high-index glass wafers are used to make waveguides, a key optical component in AR wearables. Larger-sized wafers enable lower cost for customers through a combination of material and equipment utilization improvements, which in turn contribute to more affordable AR wearables for consumers.

Corning has already shipped hundreds of thousands of high-index glass wafers to date, and the company was first to market supplying this high-precision material to Tier 1 consumer device makers. The company plans to ramp production volumes of its new 300-millimeter diameter wafers throughout the year.

Corning will showcase its high-index glass portfolio for AR next week at the Society for Information Display’s (SID) Display Week in San Jose, California, from May 14-16. Along with its glass wafers, Corning will feature:

• Supporting technologies enabling mass production of AR wearables, including flatness metrology and automated laser glass-cutting systems
• A prototype AR device made by WaveOptics, a designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides