Apple's iPhone 8 Material

Apple will create an iPhone primarily from ZrO2 - Zirconian Ceramics

The journey Apple has taken to adopt Zirconia Ceramic as the their fundamental design material translates like an epic movie plot. We will begin at the end.

The Case For (of) Zirconia

Zirconia ceramics are structured in a martensite-type transformation mechanism of stress induction. This provides the ability to absorb highest amounts of stress relative to other ceramic materials including:

AluminaAluminum NitrideBoron CarbideBoron NitrideCordieriteGraphiteMulliteSapphireSilicon CarbideSilicon NitrideSteatiteTitanium DiborideTungsten Carbide

Zirconia ceramics exhibits the highest mechanical strength and toughness at room temperature. Zirconium ceramics have the highest fracture toughness of any advanced technical ceramic. Its toughness, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance make it ideal for high pressure applications.

Common industrial applications include extrusion dies, wire and pipe extension, guides and other wear rollers, pressure valves, and bearing materials. Its thermal expansion coefficient is very close to steel, this property has made Zirconia ceramics the ideal plunger for use in a steel bore. Its properties are derived from a very precise phase composition. Zirconia has excellent wear, chemical and corrosion resistance, and low thermal conductivity.

The properties of Zirconia ceramics are dictated by the types of atoms present, the types of bonding between the atoms, and the way the atoms are packed together. Zirconia is very densely packed. Zirconia ceramics usually have a combination of stronger bonds called ionic. This occurs between a metal and nonmetal and involves the attraction of opposite charges when electrons are transferred from the metal to the nonmetal.

There are also covalent bonds that occurs between two nonmetals and involves sharing of atoms. In general, metals have weaker bonds than ceramics, which allows the electrons to move freely between atoms. This type of bond results in the property called ductility, where the metal can be easily bent without breaking, allowing it to be drawn into wire. Thus although stronger than metals, Zirconia ceramics are a bit more brittle. There are various methods to mitigate these effects.

In relationship to most other materials, Zirconia ceramics exhibits an impervious resistance to scratching. Aluminum in almost all forms exhibits a higher likelihood of retaining scratches, scuffs and staining. Zirconia ceramics also can be pigmented to any color palette with-out the use of exterior paints.

Rocket Science: How NASA Uses Ceramics

Zirconia ceramics are also extremely efficient at dissipating heat, perhaps better than any other material. Heat dissipation is desired when protecting a system as a barrier to heat, heat conduction is desired when the aim is to transfer heat away from a system. The Space Shuttle used LI-900 silica ceramics as the thermal protection system, a barrier that protected the Space Shuttle Orbiter during atmospheric reentry dissipating ~3,000 °F of accumulated heat protecting the Aluminum skin from thermal gradients no hotter than 350°F . NASA began research into using ceramics spanning from the early 1960s for thermal HRSI layers for entry level spacecraft. NASA drove the research that created all the modern ceramic systems, including the ideas behind using Zirconia ceramics.

Zirconia + Alumina Or Aluminum Nitride Conduct Heat

The LI-900 silica ceramics have the opposite effect one would need in most moderne electronic devices, mainly to dissipate heat. Zirconia alone in a ceramic is a very low heat conductor, but this can be changed. In electronics application the introduction of Alumina or better yet Aluminum Nitride the heat conduction coefficients rapidly surpass Aluminum alone. The ratios of these introduction into the Zirconia ceramic can introduce brittleness, however it can be mitigated with an effective balance.

Transparent Zirconia Ceramics

Zirconia ceramics can also be transparent. In 2012 the Tokyo Research Laboratory wrote a landmark paper called the: “Development of highly transparent zirconia ceramics”. Transparent Zirconia ceramics could serve as a new very hard screen.

Apple’s Material Science Odyssey

Apple has been on a journey to craft the products they create from the most advanced elements. Through it’s history Apple has revolutionized the use of Aluminum, from smelting and fabrication to micro-millimeter precision CNC machining. Apple has advanced the use of Aluminum to such a degree they have reached the pinnacle of how much further they can go, other than “transparent Aluminum” (Aluminum oxynitride) .

Apple’s desire to stretch the bounds of material science may have contributed to the “Bendgate”. As the iPhone became thinner the potential of failure to the structural integrity increased. There are remedial ways to use components inside of the iPhone to aid in the structural integrity, however Apple may have reached the limit.

Apple’s Sapphire Detour

On October 1st, 2013 Apple entered into a unique relationship with GT Advanced Technologies on the manufacturing of Sapphire Crystals for production into screens and a new unibody iPhone made primarily of Sapphire. The press release was optimistic, although at the time I had deep concerns over the fact Apple did not fully acquire the company, instead created a unique performance based relationship.

On October 31, 2013, GTAT Corporation ("GTAT"), a wholly owned subsidiary of GT Advanced Technologies Inc, and Apple ("Apple") entered into a Master Development and Supply Agreement and related Statement of Work (the "MDSA"), pursuant to which GTAT will supply sapphire material exclusively to Apple for consumer electronics. GTAT has granted Apple certain intellectual property rights in connection with its sapphire growth technologies.

The unique relationship required GT Advanced Technologies to produce optically clear and flawless crystals in factory space supplied by Apple in Arizona. The relationship fell apart rapidly as quality and production volume was not nearly as expected at a cost that was several times more expensive than anyone anticipated. Apple ended the relationship and by October, 2014 GT Advanced Technologies was in bankruptcy.

The Sapphire screen was to be a central part of the iPhone 6 series and would have added greatly to the structural integrity. Apple had about 5 months before the announcement of the iPhone and compromised on the design. It was a tragic turn of events that is still impacting Apple to this day in the design of the iPhone 7. Apple would normally advance the design of the iPhone ever 2 years. The setback from the failure of GT Advanced Technologies forced Apple took look at other materials. Apple internally vowed to never become reliant on outside vendors for critical foundational technology. They went back to the drawing board.

Back To The Drawing Board And The Trail Of Apple Patents

After the failure to get very high production quantities of Sapphire at high quality, Apple looked closer at the periodic table of elements and searched for materials that can be manufactured in very high quantities, have similar properties to Sapphire and Aluminum. Apple tested hundreds of ideas but ultimately settled on Zirconia ceramics because of the characteristics stated above. Apple has a patent history using ceramics dating past 2006, thus it was a natural path for their next major leap in material sciences.

The ideal material to manufactured and iPhone should be radio transparent allowing the the many radio frequencies to emanate from the device unimpeded. Currently iPhones have antenna lines, even the least iPhone 7 has them, although they have been machined into the unibody of Aluminum. Aluminum successful blocks just about all short band radio frequencies and as devices become smaller, the impact on radio range becomes challenging.

The iPhone Becoming Radio Transparant

In summer of August, 2006, about six months before the iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs in January 9, 2007, Apple material scientists Stephen Zadesky and Stephen Lynch were filing patents for: “A handheld computing device includes an enclosure having structural walls formed from a ceramic material that is radio-transparent”.

The backgrounds statement for the patent says quite a bit:

“In recent years, portable computing devices such as laptops, PDAs, media players, cellular phones, etc., have become small, light and powerful. One factor contributing to this phenomena is in the manufacturer's ability to fabricate various components of these devices in smaller and smaller sizes while in most cases increasing the power and or operating speed of such components. Unfortunately, the trend of smaller, lighter and powerful presents a continuing design challenge in the design of some components of the portable computing devices.

One design challenge associated with the portable computing devices is the design of the enclosures used to house the various internal components of the portable computing devices. This design challenge generally arises from two conflicting design goals--the desirability of making the enclosure lighter and thinner, and the desirability of making the enclosure stronger and more rigid. The lighter enclosures, which typically use thinner plastic structures and fewer fasteners, tend to be more flexible and therefore they have a greater propensity to buckle and bow when used while the stronger and more rigid enclosures, which typically use thicker plastic structures and more fasteners, tend to be thicker and carry more weight. Unfortunately, increased weight may lead to user dissatisfaction, and bowing may damage the internal parts of the portable computing devices. 

The invention relates, in one embodiment, to a portable computing device capable of wireless communications. The portable computing device includes an enclosure that surrounds and protects the internal operational components of the portable computing device. The enclosure includes a structural wall formed from a ceramic material that permits wireless communications therethrough. The wireless communications may for example correspond to RF communications, and further the ceramic material may be radio-transparent thereby allowing RF communications therethrough.

When I first read this patent application in 2006 I knew that at some point this would be one of the next foundational direction for materials for Apple. The radio transparency solves a tremendous number of problems. The iPhone needs to transmit and/or receive through 5 primary radio systems including Cellular, WiFI, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, etc. There is great advantage to using a unibody that is radio transparent.

The Apple Zirconia Ceramics Production Patent

In February, 2014 Apple continued to patent more advancements in the production of Zirconia ceramics with: “CERAMIC COMPONENT CASTING” [7]. The patent application deals with a technique that makes production quality much higher by removing the processes that introduces imperfections.

“Ceramic-based components can be used in a variety of products including structural/building materials, kitchen and tableware, automotive components, medical devices and electronic devices. These ceramic-based components may be used in such a variety of industries because of the desirable physical properties and characteristics. As one example, ceramic-based materials may include high strength properties (e.g., fracture toughness, ductility), include dielectric constant properties and may be substantially transparent, dependent on manufacture. Conventional ceramic-based components are typically made using two techniques: ceramic injection molding (CIM) and ceramic gel casting.

Generally, embodiments discussed herein are related to methods for improved ceramic component casting. The methods of casting may include combining two materials, where the combining of the two materials begin a curing process to form a ceramic component. At least one of the two materials may include zirconia particles. The combined materials, including the zirconia particles, may be disposed within a cavity of a ceramic component mold, and may cure over a predetermined time to form a ceramic component. The forming of the ceramic component may be accomplished by maintaining a minimal compression force and relatively constant temperature surrounding the two materials including the zirconia particles. That is, the formation may not require any additional pressure than the amount of pressure needed to hold the component mold together.

Additionally, the formation may not require the addition of heat to the two materials including the zirconia to form the ceramic component. As a result, the mold need not withstand rapid heating and cooling, and may be made from a more cost-effective material. Additionally, through the casting process, the two materials including the zirconia and/or the mold may be subjected to a vacuum in order to remove air bubbles that may negatively affect the formed ceramic component.

In this patent Apple is perfecting the production of Zirconia ceramic that allows for higher strength and a lower brittleness factor.

The Landmark Zirconia Ceramics iPhone, MacBook And Apple Watch Patent

On August 3rd, 2015 Apple presented the landmark patent for the future direction of Apple products to the USTPO. Innocently titled: “CO-MOLDED CERAMIC AND POLYMER STRUCTURE”. On September 8, 2016 one day after the Apple event that announced the iPhone 7 and the Apple Watch Series 2 the patent was made public. Of particular interest is Apple Watch Edition Series 2. Although I anticipated a ceramic Watch but this time Apple used Zirconia + Alunima. The patent was embargoed since August, 2015 by the USPTO to one day after the event so as not to telegraph a future product shift to competitors.

The patent cites this background:

As one specific example, ceramic materials have numerous qualities that make them particularly useful for use in electronic device housings. For example, they may be highly scratch resistant, making them particularly well suited for electronic devices that are frequently subject to bumps, scrapes, and scratches, such as wearable electronic devices (e.g., smart watches, glasses and the like), mechanical watches, and other consumer products (including, but not limited to, media players, mobile computers, tablet computing devices, and so on). As a specific example, the high hardness and optical clarity of sapphire crystal (a crystalline ceramic material) may be very well suited as the cover glass for a touch-screen of a wearable electronic device. Ceramic materials may also be relatively light, making handheld or wearable electronic devices easier to carry, wear, and use. Moreover, ceramic materials may be able to achieve a high degree of surface polish making them particularly aesthetically pleasing.

However, ceramic materials typically are more difficult to form into complex geometries than plastics, and, thus, manufacturing housing components from ceramic materials can be more difficult than for other materials. Accordingly, described herein are housing components where a polymer material is co-molded with a ceramic component to form a housing component that includes ceramic and polymer material portions. (As used herein, the terms "polymer" and/or "polymer material" encompass natural and synthetic polymers, plastics, rubbers, and the like.) For example, a ceramic housing portion may be co-molded with a polymer material to form a polymer clip that is directly coupled to the ceramic material and can be used to retain the ceramic component with another housing component. As another example, a polymer material may be co-molded with a ceramic component to form a plastic coating on a portion of the ceramic component

As described herein, a polymer material forming a polymer feature may be coupled to a ceramic component by a co-molding process whereby the polymer material is molded against the ceramic component. By co-molding the polymer material directly onto the ceramic component, the polymer feature may be bonded to the ceramic material without the use of an intervening adhesive or other bonding agent between the ceramic and the polymer feature. For example, instead of separately forming the ceramic component and the polymer feature, and then adhering the polymer feature to the ceramic with glue, pressure sensitive adhesive, heat activated films, epoxy, or the like, the polymer may be molded directly against the ceramic material.

Thus, parts that include both ceramic and polymer components can be manufactured more quickly and with higher precision than would be achieved if the components had to be manufactured separately and thereafter coupled together with adhesive. In some embodiments, the polymer material is injection molded onto the ceramic component. In some embodiments, the polymer material is molded onto the ceramic component using techniques other than injection molding, such as gravity casting, or any other appropriate co-molding process. Where the present discussion refers to injection molding, it will be understood that other molding techniques may be used in such instances instead of or in addition to injection molding.

Apple has created a system whereby injection moulding can be used to form the unibody of a device and to mate that device efficiently to a screen. There are embodiments that also present the Apple Watch Edition Series 2.

The description on the Apple website for Apple Watch Edition follows the narrative of this patent and our story so far:

“Uniquely elegant. Brilliantly scratch-resistant.

Sleek, light, and extremely durable, ceramic is more than four times as hard as stainless steel — with a pearly lustrous finish that won’t scratch or tarnish.

The craftsmanship behind the case.

The process of creating the Apple Watch Edition case begins with a high-strengthzirconia powder that’s combined with alumina to achieve its rich white color. Each case is then compression molded sintered, and polished using a diamond slurry which results in a remarkably smooth surface and an exquisite shine. With this precise level of workmanship, every Apple Watch Edition case takes days to make.”

One can see Apple is using a Zirconia powder with Alumina. This is for color but also for heat transference. As mentioned above this coincides with what I mentioned above about increasing thermal conductivity of Zirconia ceramics.

Apple Watch Edition Series 2 has replaced the solid gold original Watch Edition that sold for $17,000. Apple Watch Edition Series 2 sells for about $1,200 and is now the premium level for the device. Apple is suggesting luxury with the use of this material at this point.

What Does This All Mean?

One could argue that the premium price could signal that the iPhone made of Zirconia ceramic would be more costly based on this example. However in my analysis the production cost of high yield Zirconia ceramic in sufficient quantities to produce a unibody in the form factor of the current iPhone 7 would actually be less costly than the current manufacturing milling and CNC machining of the unibody in Aluminum for the iPhone 7 in high production.

Thus we have the basis for the next generation of the iPhone but perhaps all Apple devices including the iPad macBook Pro and other others. The reasoning is very simple the benefits of Zirconia ceramic are especially useful for any modern computer device.

Why is Apple moving to Zirconia Ceramics? 

Clearly Apple has reached as far as they could with CNC Aluminum and has reached as to the limits of usability for future iPhones. It is one hinderance to the device becoming thinner the transverse strength is at the limit. As Apple introduces more advanced chips they will induce more heat and this heat needs to be dissipated efficiently.

These issues also apply to the iPad and the MacBook. The strength and thermal exchange rate is quite unmatched. As mentioned above NASA choose silica (for weight but also made them very brittle) ceramics used in the 24,000 tile LI-900 thermal protection system to dissipated heat efficiently. It worked very well but was not perfect. With Zirconia ceramics and the introduction of Alumina and or Aluminum Nitride the heat transfer coefficient will exceed Aluminum alone making the new iPhone the best device to dissipate heat seen thus far .

The Entire iPhone Casing Is A Battery: Meet Lithium-Ceramic Batteries

There is a very intriguing possibility that new Lithium-Ceramic  battery technology could be implemented in to the actual case material of a future iPhone. This new battery technology allows for a very new and unique way to eliminate a separate battery and to fashion it into the actual structure of the iPhone. Although Lithium-Ceramic batteries are currently not as efficient.

A Lithium-Ceramic battery as the entire casing system for a future iPhone would allow for a substantially larger battery more than compensating for the lowered efficiency. This manufacturing technique would be revolutionary and create a thinner and lighter iPhone.

Lithium-Ceramic batteries are so resilient they can be cut in half and still operate. They are also a magnitude more safe and recyclable. The safety issue is currently a wide concern when it was discovered the Samsung Galaxy Note7 suffered a ban on airlines and a Consumer Products Safety Commission recall because of a explosion and fire hazard. Lithium-Ceramic batteries would be some of the safest batteries in use.

The 10th Anniversary iPhone 8

In September 2017, Apple will be releasing the 10th Anniversary iPhone 8. It is my view Apple will use this moment to present a completely new iPhone design that will be revolutionary in many ways. I assert the design language will be based on a more organic shape and design. There will be ergonomic curves that will mold into the new AMOLED display being driven by video chips that simply could not have thermally operated in such a small space with-out heat efficiency of Zirconia ceramics. The iPhone 8 will not just be water resistant but water proof and dust proof to a level never seen before on a smartphone. The lightning port will look more like the Mag-Safe system used on the MacBook Pro devices and mostly use inductive charging. Of course there will be no 3.5mm audio jack.