What is Optical Bonding?
Optical bonding is an adhesive process used to bond a protective clear cover screen or layer to an underlying LCD panel. Use of this method of bonding will typically eliminate the air gap between the two layers, and can result in greatly improved screen visibility (see picture above). Silicone solutions, such as OCR (optically clear resin) or LOCA (liquid optically clear adhesive) are strong candidates to consider for optical bonding applications due to their overall design flexibility, as well as their tendency to remain clear over long time periods.
Momentive Performance Materials provides leading-edge silicone technologies to help its customers meet performance and productivity challenges in a wide range of automotive and electronic applications. Momentive is a pioneer in developing solutions for silicone optical bonding, with a portfolio of proven materials that are in wide use around the world. Momentive offers a wide range of off-the-shelf solutions to help deliver design flexibility and long-term reliability to components operating under harsh conditions.
- Optical Bonding for Automotive Displays
- Optical Bonding for Electronic Applications
- Optical Bonding for Marine and Defense Applications
- InvisiSil* Optical Bonding silicones
Optical Bonding Advantages
Optical Bonding offers many advantages over air gap bonding and most other bonding materials for display manufacturing. What makes optical bonding better?
Advanced Display Performance
- Fast and accurate touch response time
- Can enable larger display sizes than alternative bonding methods
- Silicone optical bonding adhesives remain clear over time
- Generate high contrast displays using less device power at lower operating temperatures
Supports Durable and Rugged Displays
- Prevents condensation and fogging in humid environments
- Scratch and dirt resistance in environments where air quality is an issue
- Reduces or eliminates the need for custom protective enclosures or heavy soda-lime cover glass
- Withstands use in high-traffic public environments
- Vibration and shock resistant seals
Enhances Display Images
- Higher resolution and clearer display
- Low surface and ambient light reflection
- Wider viewing angle
- Reduces eye strain from reflections
Improves User Experience
- Fewer layers allow for a slimmer device design
- Enables the creation of lighter weight displays for easier integration, installation and servicing
- Enables multi-touch display interaction
- Reduces parallax effects decreasing display lag and providing precise touch alignment in touch-based systems
See also: Silicones for Smartphones and Mobile Devices
* InvisiSil is a trademark of Momentive Performance Materials Inc.
Technical Documents
Featured Products
INVISISIL™ OP2012S Thermal Cure Optical Bonding Silicone
Learn more about INVISISIL™, our excellent thermal cure optical bonding silicone, best for protecting displays and touch screens against moisture.
View Product View Product LiteratureINVISISIL™ SN1001 Snap Cure Optical Bonding Silicone
Learn more about INVISISIL* SN1001 optical bonding silicone, our nonyellowing, repairable and shadow-curable fast-curing silicone with a stable modulus.
View Product Download Technical Data View Product LiteratureINVISISIL™ OP1012 Thermal Cure Optical Bonding Silicone
INVISISIL OP1012 optical bonding silicone is an optically clear gel used principally for touchscreen electronics and displays, featuring a stable modulus and low shrinkage.
View Product View Product LiteratureINVISISIL™ OP2131SD UV-Cure Optical Bonding Silicone
Learn more about INVISISIL* OP2131SD, our optical bonding silicone. It is a one-part optically clear, non-yellowing material with a fast cure time.
View Product Download Technical Data View Product Literature