For anyone who has dropped their phone and experienced that gut-wrenching moment when they turn it over to discover the screen is a mosaic of cracked glass, the problem may have been solved.

Scientists in Japan have developed a new type of glass that is so strong that it rivals some metals.

The glass will allow mobile phone screens to become thinner and lighter than ever before, according to the researchers.

Nearly half of all smart phone users have smashed the screen of their device at some point (stock picture used) but a new type of glass made using an oxide of aluminium called alumina has been created by Japanese scientists. The glass is harder than

They created the glass using an oxide of aluminium called alumina.

Tests on the glass showed it was tougher than iron, copper and stainless steel.

THE SMASH-PROOF PHONE Motorola says more than half (53%) of global smartphone owners have shattered their screens and one-in-five are currently living with a broken smartphone screen. The company claims to have produced a handset with the world's first shatterproof screen. The firm said it has spent the last three years creating Moto ShatterShield, which is says the world’s first phone screen guaranteed not to crack or shatter. It is so confident it is offering a four year warranty from the date of purchase to protect against shattering or cracking The Droid Turbo 2 has a 5.4-inch QHD display that Motorola and Verizon, its network partner in the US, claim will be able to withstand drops, slips and tumbles, even those taken on concrete. It boasts a rigid aluminum core that provides structural integrity and durability. On top of that, it has a AMOLED flexible display that absorbs shock and makes it possible to flex during a drop versus breaking like most screens. Then, a dual touch layer with redundancy was created to help it survive accidents. An interior lens provides a clear protective shield that will not crack or shatter and an exterior lens has a hardcoat that helps protect the display against normal wear and tear. Advertisement

It could also lead to new lightweight windscreens for cars and stronger window panes for high-rise buildings, according to the researchers.

Dr Atsunobu Masuno, from the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo who led the research, told the Asahi Shinbun newspaper: 'We will establish a way to mass-produce the new material shortly.

'We are looking to commercialise the technique within five years.'

The scientists combined alumina with another metal oxide called tantalum oxide using a technique called 'aerodynamic levitation.

They used the Vickers harness test – where a diamond point is pressed into a material - and found it was able to withstand up to 9.1GPa of pressure.

Stainless steel is able to withstand between 0.7GPa and 1GPa while high carbon steel has a hardness of 3.9GPa.

Reporting their results in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers, which included scientists from Japan's Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, said previous attempts to use alumina in glass have been unsuccessful as it tends to crystallise when it touches the sides of a container.

However, the research team used oxygen gas to push materials into the air and then used lasers to melt them.

Writing in the journal the researchers said: 'The glass is colourless and highly transparent in the visible region.

'Glasses with high elastic moduli have been in demand for many years because the thickness of such glasses can be reduced while maintaining its strength.

'Moreover, thinner and lighter glasses are desired for the fabrication of windows in buildings and cars, cover glasses for smartphones and substrates in Thin-Film Transistor displays.'

The glass was made by injecting the chemical components into the air with a stream of oxygen gas and then melting them with a laser. The researchers say the glass (pictured) is colourless, transparent in visible light and extremely hard

The fine structure of the crystals in the glass (pictured) help to make it extremely hard while retaining its ability to allow light to travel through it