In daily life, tape may seem inconspicuous. However, it is not only widely used but also has a broad range of applications. The global market for packaging tape alone has reached over $600 million. In other industries, automotive tape is used for bonding seals and decorative parts due to its high-temperature resistance and aging resistance. There are also specialized tapes for integrated circuits, with an annual market size exceeding $300 million. In new energy electric vehicles, battery packs weighing hundreds of kilograms are secured together with high-strength flame-retardant double-sided tape, and other components and heating plates also require flame-retardant tape. Various forms of tape are used in fields such as construction, medical, education, and art. In industrial manufacturing, tape offers unique advantages of low cost and high efficiency. A roll of transparent tape costing 10 yuan can replace dozens of welding or bolting operations, significantly saving costs in temporary repairs and quick packaging. Spacecraft must withstand extremely high temperatures and require numerous screws, which can make them heavy. However, tape that can withstand temperatures above 310°C meets the requirements for being both lightweight and strong. Sometimes, tape is even used to repair airplanes. This special tape is called high-speed tape, and a roll costs $400. It is thicker and more durable than regular tape. Medical tape assists in wound treatment, offering high adhesion, easy unsealing, easy tearing, and a degree of breathability without irritation. In the manufacturing of electronic devices, specially designed anti-static tape protects delicate electronic components.
In chip manufacturing, a type of UV tape is used for fixation. It has high adhesion and, once cured, exhibits high rigidity, strong thermal stability, and excellent chemical resistance. In the production of smartphones and tablets, conductive tape not only bonds but also balances potential, dissipates static electricity, and safely connects metal conductive strips and housing components. Additionally, conductive tape acts as a shielding layer, enhancing the device’s resistance to electromagnetic interference. Devices like smartphones contain miniature speakers that require a special tape with high rigidity to reduce vibration decay, and it is very thin, only 22 to 60 microns. The comfort of luxury cars is partly attributed to vibration-damping tape. Cars have many components that produce various sounds during operation; wind noise and vibrations from the road can also transmit into the cabin. Vibration-damping tape can reduce or even prevent abnormal noises, enhancing the driving experience. The technology behind specialty tapes is advanced, with large well-known tape companies from Europe, America, and Japan dominating the market. In the high-end market, giants like 3M from the USA, Tesa from Germany, and Nitto from Japan occupy the top tier. 3M’s Scotch tape series holds a 30% share of the global consumer market. Scotch tape exhibits high adhesion and long-term holding power on various materials, including metal, wood, leather, and polymers. It can maintain performance at temperatures up to 140°C and has excellent resistance to UV, ozone, and chemical corrosion, as well as flame retardancy, waterproof sealing, and insulation properties, making it commonly used in overhead insulated wire joints and communication station antenna joints. Tesa automotive tape holds the largest market share globally. Major automotive brands in Germany, such as Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Daimler, and Porsche, almost exclusively use Tesa tape. It meets nearly 30 quality testing standards set by major automotive brands. It can secure wire harnesses without causing them to twist or deform. It is relatively easy to tear, and the tape does not deform after tearing. It can withstand temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius and below -40 degrees Celsius. In high-temperature environments, it does not slip, ooze, crack, or delaminate, and its wear-resistant noise reduction performance is also superior. The three major giants from the US, Germany, and Japan collectively hold over 80% of the global high-performance tape patents. For example, domestic light-blocking tape for smartphones is slightly inferior to imported products in terms of light-blocking and insulation properties. High-end domestic smartphones have to rely on imports. The tape used in chip manufacturing is heavily dependent on imports from Japan, and automotive lightweight tape is also constrained by 3M. Therefore, in the context of the China-US trade war, our automotive and aerospace industries may face certain short-term impacts regarding high-end tape. Our research and development of high-end tape is accelerating to catch up.