Applied Materials Joins Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University today announced that Applied Materials, Inc., through its Display Business Group-AKT, has become an Associate Member, joining the ranks of other world-class providers of technology, materials and process equipment who are collaborating with the FDC to develop advanced flexible electronic displays. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied is a leading supplier of systems, processes and services to the flat panel display manufacturing industry, focusing on applications that serve the Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) market.

The Flexible Display Center is a government - university - academia partnership, whose mission is to advance the development and commercialization of full-color flexible electronic display technologies. Formed through a 10-year cooperative agreement between the U.S. Army and Arizona State University, the FDC also partners with many of the world's leading providers of advanced display technology, materials and process equipment such as LG Display, HP, E Ink, Universal Display Corporation, DuPont Teijin Films, EV Group, as well as leading display technology integrators such as General Dynamics, Raytheon, Boeing, Honeywell, and L3 Communications.

"Successful growth of the display industry will require continuous technology and process development to improve performance and reduce cost per area," said Dr. Gilad Almogy, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Applied Materials' Display Business and Thin Film Solar Products Group. "We are pleased to be part of the FDC which brings together resources and expertise from government, university and industry to enable these critical advancements. Through this alliance, we expect to achieve new breakthroughs that will broaden our technology portfolio and contribute to the expanding applications for digital displays."

"Over the past five years, the Flexible Display Center has created a proven collaborative partnership model with over 20 engaged industry members," said Gregory B. Raupp, FDC Director. "In only a few short months we have initiated collaboration with Applied Materials that enables Applied to test its industry-leading thin film deposition technology using FDC's world-class infrastructure and to produce first versions of a new advanced thin film transistor (TFT) technology for flexible displays. We look forward to working with Applied on R&D and commercialization acceleration efforts."

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology[TM] solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass. At Applied Materials, we apply Nanomanufacturing Technology to improve the way people live. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.

About the Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University

The FDC is a government - industry - academia partnership that's advancing full-color flexible display technology and fostering development of a manufacturing ecosystem to support the rapidly growing market for flexible electronic displays. FDC partners include many of the world's leading providers of advanced display technology, materials and process equipment. The FDC is unique among the U.S. Army's University centers, having been formed through a 10-year cooperative agreement with Arizona State University in 2004. This adaptable agreement has enabled the FDC to create and implement a proven collaborative partnership model with over 20 engaged industry members, and to successfully deploy world class wafer-scale R&D and GEN-II display-scale pilot production lines for rapid flexible display technology development and manufacturing supply chain commercialization. More information on the Flexible Display Center can be found at www.flexdisplay.asu.edu.