Cooking smarter: SCHOTT CERAN® makes lighting features on cooktops accessible for everyone

Light connects people with technology. Light is an essential tool for transporting and exchanging information, be it in a data packet for global fiber optic networks, in an indicator behind the steering wheel of a car, or in a photo on a smartphone screen. The same is also true in the kitchen. Today's cooktops are both high-tech and a design element. Lighting solutions ensure that controls, cooking zones, or even digital features are visible when switched on. To make this happen, light – emitted by LEDs below the cooktop panel – has to penetrate the glass-ceramic as much as possible. With the CERAN EXCITE® lighting portfolio, SCHOTT has already developed a variety of coatings and filters that make the cooktops, from customers like Siemens (in the iQ700 activeLight model), more interactive and exciting. CERAN Luminoir™ takes this one step further: its newly developed composition makes the glass-ceramic more translucent allowing white and blue light, in particular to shine through brighter and clearer – all while maintaining its deep black appearance. That’s why CERAN Luminoir™ opens up new design possibilities for household appliance designers, at the same time reducing the production complexity of smart cooktops, ultimately saving consumers money.

New formula, new look

"Unlike previous glass-ceramics, which have a high light transmission especially in the high, red range of visible light, CERAN Luminoir™ has a uniform high transmission over the entire range of visible light. That means the material acts like an optical gray filter," explains Dr. Jörn Besinger, Head of Product Management & New Business Development at SCHOTT CERAN®. White and blue light in particular, but also color combinations, can penetrate better through the glass-ceramic. Colors appear more brilliant and contours even sharper – even with diffused light or color gradients. Whereas red has predominately been used in cooking zones and in the digital screen on cooktops to date, white light will play a greater role in the future. And, instead of a slightly reddish shimmer on the cooktop panel, the new glass-ceramic cooktop surface will look deep black at any time of day and make a real design statement in the kitchen.

A new cooking experience for everyone

"The new material formula enables our customers to save on production outlays and costs. This is possible because luminous and multicolored light features can now be produced without additional filter layers. This not only saves on material and production steps, but also makes innovative lighting solutions in cooktops interesting for broader assortment of customers," explains Dr. Matthias Bockmeyer, Head of Development in the Cooking division at SCHOTT. These advantages make CERAN Luminoir™ more attractive for mass production. Through this material, impressive lighting effects and digital features could be coming soon to standard cooking surfaces outside of the premium segment.

CERAN Luminoir™ was introduced at a customer event in early September and has already generated a positive market response. The new glass-ceramic can be viewed digitally at the SCHOTT World of Innovation.

SCHOTT CERAN® is a registered trademark of SCHOTT AG.

Pioneering – responsibly – together

These attributes characterize SCHOTT as a manufacturer of high-tech materials based on specialty glass. Founder Otto Schott is considered its inventor and became the pioneer of an entire industry. Always opening up new markets and applications with a pioneering spirit and passion – this is what has driven the #glasslovers at SCHOTT for more than 130 years. Represented in 34 countries, the company is a highly skilled partner for high-tech industries: Healthcare, Home Appliances & Living, Consumer Electronics, Semiconductors & Datacom, Optics, Industry & Energy, Automotive, Astronomy, and Aerospace. In the fiscal year 2020, its 16,500 employees generated sales of of 2.24 billion euros (US$ 2.49 billion). With the best teams, supported by the best digital tools, the group intends to continue to grow. SCHOTT AG is owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the oldest foundations in Germany. It uses the Group's dividends to promote science. As a foundation company, SCHOTT has anchored responsibility for employees, society and the environment deeply in its DNA. The goal is to become a climate-neutral company by 2030.