Corning to Provide Advanced Optical Glass for National Ignition Facility.

CORNING, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 1999--Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) has been awarded a $16 million contract to provide HPFS(R) (high purity fused silica) lenses and windows for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Ignition Facility, one of the nation's largest science projects.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a stadium-sized, $1.2 billion, 192-beam laser complex now under construction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Slated for completion in 2003, the facility will create, for the first time in a laboratory, brief bursts of self-sustaining fusion reactions similar to those occurring in the sun and stars. The resulting data will help the Department of Energy maintain the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile without underground testing. NIF will also perform important research in fusion energy development, basic science and astrophysics.

Corning will provide approximately 2,600 HPFS lenses and windows to be used by NIF. They will transport and focus 192 laser beams onto a BB-sized capsule of fusion fuel made of deuterium and tritium. Laser energy will compress and heat the capsule, causing the fuel inside to ignite and produce a fusion burn. These conditions exist naturally only in the interior of stars and in nuclear weapon explosions. The combined laser beams can produce a temperature of several million degrees.

HPFS offers extreme purity measured in parts per billion. In addition, it has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion. This is critical for maintaining dimensional and optical stability during the laser beam transport.

"We are pleased that Corning's advanced optical materials and its research and development expertise from our global network of laboratories will play a key role in this important national project," said Raymond F. Leinen, vice president and business manager of Corning's Semiconductor Materials Division.

E. Michael Campbell, associate director for Laser Programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said, "NIF will open up new capabilities for the country and for basic science. We could not make NIF a reality without the essential contributions of outstanding companies like Corning."

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a premier applied-science, national security laboratory. The laboratory's primary mission is to ensure that the nation's nuclear weapons remain safe, secure and reliable, and to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons worldwide. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The HPFS blanks for NIF will be manufacturing in Corning's Canton, N.Y., plant.

Corning has provided advanced optical materials for every high-energy laser program in the United States. The company is also one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced optics for the semiconductor industry. HPFS is used in lens assemblies of microlithographic stepper cameras, which print circuitry on computer chips.

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing segments of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and components, high-performance glass and components for television, and other electronic displays for communications and communications-related industries. Corning also manufactures advanced materials for scientific and environmental markets. Corning's total revenues in 1998 were $3.5 billion. More information on the company is available at http://www.corning.com, Corning's website.

(Editor's Note: Corning and HPFS are registered trademarks of Corning Incorporated. Additional information regarding the National Ignition Facility is available at http://lasers.llnl.gov/lasers/nif.html)