Samsung patented magic: An anti-fingerprint coating with self-healing properties

How cool would it be if a scratch on the screen of your brand new Samsung phone could heal on its own? Well, a recently published patent suggests that this could be a reality.A patent application published by the World Intellectual property Organisation, which was first identified by the publication Android Headlines reveals that Samsung has patented an anti-fingerprint compound, which can provide self-healing properties to “film, laminate, and device,” hinting strongly that Samsung wants to make its devices shatter-proof. A self-healing oleophobic coating, which is an anti-fingerprinting composition and includes compounds such as “polyrotaxane, polyhedral silsesquioxane, and fluorinated (meth) acryl” will be applied on the Gorilla glass on Samsung smartphones.[caption id="attachment_4903451" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Image: Tech2/Rehan Hooda[/caption]These coatings aren’t something new and have been used in mobiles for many years. However, what makes the Samsung’s patent a ‘patent’ is that the company is adding a new property, and creating an anti-fingerprint compound that can ‘regenerate itself.’It is difficult to fathom from the patent itself about what is the extent up to which the composition can regenerate and heal the screens, but it would help a great deal even if it could heal tiny scratches and damages. Currently, on the new Galaxy Note 9, Samsung uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and rear for protection.As the popularity of thinner bezels and larger screens grow, Samsung’s magic composition could keep fingerprints at bay, heal our screens and, of course, our hearts, that break one scratch at a time.