Communications

Materials and Communications

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones use is exploding around the world. With more phones we see a greater variety of shapes, sizes and decoration. State of the art materials technology is the key to achieving this greater variety. The applications of materials are as critical internally to the phone as with the housing.

Housings for portable handsets need to be tough as well as attractive. Polymer technology needs to be continually extended to enable the manufacture of complex components in high volume and to extremely close tolerances. Lower weight requirements push the need for thinner walls whilst structural integrity is not compromised and production rates can be maximized.

Customers want dependable quality products and expect them to work after they have dropped them, spread tea, coffee, sun tan lotion etc. on them and left them in bright sunlight. Materials technologists need to make careful choices not just for the cover materials but also for any coating or decoration materials. Once the specific materials have been chosen, extensive and exhaustive testing is performed to ensure that the customers’ expectations will be satisfied.

Inside the phone, materials technology helps to reduce weight and size of the handset whilst improving functionality. Special polymers and techniques allow selective metallisation on the surface of mouldings to form such components as 3D multi-frequency antenna structures. Shape memory alloys similar to those used in high quality spectacle frames have been used for several years for the whip antennas of mobile phones. Careful detail design of optical mouldings allows even distribution of low power lighting. Key pads have to minimize the stress in the material to give customers the life expected whilst maintaining throughout that life a sub consciously pleasing feel. The list of important applications of world class materials technology within mobile phones is far more extensive than these few examples.

The application of good materials technology to mobile phones has been a key element to satisfying customer demands and expectations. In an industry that continues to grow and evolve at a rapid pace the need for specialists who really understand the properties and applications of materials will not diminish.

Working in the Industry

Sharp Laboratories of Europe Ltd

Institute of Materials