AAC’s WLG hybrid camera lens global debut marks a new dawn in mobile photography

Xiaomi’s Redmi K40 Gaming Edition is the first mobile phone in the world to incorporate a Wafer Level Glass (WLG) hybrid camera lens.  The K40 Gaming Edition was officially launched on April 27th, 2021. The hybrid camera lens solution includes 1 glass + 5 plastic lens elements provided by AAC Optics, a subsidiary of AAC Technologies.  AAC Optics made their initial investment into WLG 10 years ago and has subsequently developed patented expertise to enable high volume production of Wafer Level Glass (WLG) technology into the Smartphone, Automotive, and IOT (Internet of Things) markets.

The launch represents a milestone in mobile photography. The camera touts a larger aperture and a 15% increase in light reaching the sensor, enabling lower noise and more detail for low light and night photography. The unique lens coating and anti-reflective technologies reduce ghosting and flare in complex light environments. With increased aperture, optical designers have greater design freedom for improved performance and smaller dimensions, making phones lighter and thinner.

Due to the extremely challenging manufacturing process of glass material, all mobile phones currently use plastic lenses. Leveraging semiconductor wafer manufacturing techniques, AAC Optics has demonstrated that glasses lenses can be mass produced for global smartphone supply chains. Due to the highly transferable technology, WLG is suitable for making a variety of high-precision aspheric glass lenses. This will open limitless opportunities for glass lenses to improve the end user experience in applications beyond smartphones, including automotive, AR/VR, drones, smart home devices and wearables.