Abstract The downstream glass industry in South Korea exhibits a distinctive structure compared with that of other non-Asian countries, as its semiconductor and display sectors are tightly integrated with the glass materials supply chain. In this review, the distinct features of glass-related industrial research and development in South Korea are addressed by taking two representative applications of glasses, i.e., glass core substrate for semiconductor packaging applications and ultra-thin glass for use as cover window of flexible display modules. In the case of glass core substrate and glass interposer, the inherent brittleness of glassy materials imposes constraints across the process flow, requiring precise control over laser irradiation, chemical etching, redistribution layer formation, and singulation. Ultra-thin glass needs to be durable during repeated deformations, so that its thickness is typically on the order of several tens of micrometers. At such thickness levels, resistance to mechanical deformations becomes a primary concern, and therefore processing steps from cutting, chamfering, and healing to chemical strengthening play a decisive role in determining mechanical reliability and optical clarity of ultra-thin glass. Flexible display devices with other form factors featuring multi-foldable, slidable or rollable capability would be realized along with advancement of processing technologies associated with ultra-thin glass.

With an emphasis on the application-oriented research activities directly or indirectly related to glass materials led by South Korean universities, four different topics are introduced in this review: 1) a thermodynamic database for glass-forming systems, 2) mold flux systems used in steel casting, 3) glasses doped with quantum dots and/or perovskite nano-crystals, and 4) chalcogenide glasses for thermal imaging. For each topic, recent advances are described in conjunction with their basic concepts and future perspectives. The CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) thermodynamic database for glass-forming system and glassmaking process has been actively developed to assist glass research and the manufacturing process. In addition, a multi-component diffusion model for glass systems is being actively studied for various kinetic simulations. Recent research focuses on the expansion of the database to address key issues relevant to the decarbonization of the glassmaking process such as water solubility in glass, new redox agents, refractory wear in glass melting furnace, and electrode materials for an electric melting furnace. However, the limited availability of phase diagram and thermodynamic data pose challenging issues for the database development relevant to the decarbonization process.

In order to meet the demands for advanced glass lubricants for continuous casting of steel, investigations of structural understandings and their effects on non-Newtonian rheology, thermal properties, and glass forming ability are being actively pursued. In particular, application of mixed alkali effect and Mie scattering is believed to be an effective design principle to enhance lubrication without deteriorating heat transfer controlling ability. In consideration of the necessity of increasing scrap recycling to achieve carbon neutrality during steel manufacturing, further investigations should be done on rheological behavior of supercooled silicate glass lubricant melts in order to mitigate the cracking on continuously cast steels with a greater number of accumulated impurities.

Quantum dots and perovskite nanocrystals are still widely studied for next generation color converters or phosphoric materials for high picture quality displays including micro-LED display and anti-counterfeit applications, thus offering high chances for robust quantum dot or perovskite nanocrystal embedded glasses. However, several issues such as sub-micron sized glass powders with stable PL-QY, Pb-free perovskite nanocrystals, and glass materials for direct driving LED remain as challenging issues for their future applications.

The thermal imaging market is expected to steadily expand with a conspicuously steep inflection arising in the automobile industry caused by the regulations mandating employment of the autonomous emergence braking system. It is noteworthy that the cost of LWIR image sensors based on microbolometer arrays is decreasing rapidly to meet the demands of the automotive industry, and in this regard a group of well-qualified chalcogenide glasses will be promising as molded lenses for the high-resolution thermal cameras. Specifically, those chalcogenide glasses consisting of environmentally less harmful and relatively cheaper constituents would be preferred in the civilian sectors.