Current methods used for glass strengthening such as ion exchange processing have not been able to reach the maximum glass strengthening potential. Soda lime silicate glass has the potential to be strengthened to high levels exceeding 600 MPa of compressive stress on its surface. Applying ion exchange glass strengthening using microwave processing allowed us to reach compressive stress values exceeding 450 MPa in a short processing time of less than 30 minutes. Further comparison and optimization as well as combination between this method and old methods are studied in this thesis. We are trying to push the research of glass strengthening to a new level of fast, precise and efficient ion exchange strengthening method. The thesis can be downloaded in full through the above mentioned link.
