USDC ANNOUNCES FINAL AGENDA FOR UPCOMING FLEXIBLE DISPLAYS AND MICROELECTRONICS CONFERENCE

Three Keynote Addresses Will Kick Off What Promises To Be
The Most Revealing Conference In Five-year History

San Jose, CA, Januray 18, 2006 -- The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC), a public/private partnership chartered with developing the flat panel display (FPD) industry infrastructure, has unveiled its final agenda for its fifth annual Flexible Displays and Micro-electronics Conference, which returns to Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 7, 2006. Available via USDC’s website (click here ), this year’s conference agenda boasts more than 40 presentations, three keynote addresses, a graduate students’ poster session and the largest exhibit in the conference’s history.

A record-number of companies have lined up to co-sponsor this three-day summit, including: Applied Films, Cabot, Dow Corning, General Electric, H.C. Stark, Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, Merck, Philips, Plastic Logic, Plextronics, Polymer Vision, Universal Display and Vitex Systems. As announced earlier, Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision (a business unit of Royal Philips Electronics), will kick off this year’s conference with his keynote address on flexible display technology and future applications.

Following that will be an address by Dr. Hadi Mahabadi, vice president and centre manager of Xerox Research Centre of Canada, who will unveil recent advances in semiconductor ink and new materials that may make flexible roll-up television screens and computer displays one step closer to reality.

Tom Mclean, senior business manager of Merck KGaA LC Organic Electronics, will wind up the keynote sessions with a look at how printable organic semiconductor inks can be used to manufacture a wide variety of products from flexible displays to security RFID tags—while also examining the barriers that are slowing widespread adoption such as the absence of a manufacturing hardware base or lack of suitable product designs.

According to Dr. M. Robert Pinnel, chief technology officer for USDC and conference organizer, the increasingly high caliber of sponsors, presenters and attendees attests to this conference being a critical venue for identifying and resolving the challenges associated with enabling flexible displays and microelectronics. “The support of today’s top electronics and materials companies, government and academic organizations, has truly hastened the remarkable progress and achievements we’ve witnessed over the past few years. As we embark on our fifth year, I’m confident of even more exciting developments in the areas of R&D, manufacturability, market acceptance and commercialization,” stated Dr. Pinnel.  

This year’s exhibitor forum, which will run during the conference’s session breaks, features a record number of companies—21 in all—that are focused on commercializing flexible displays or are developing the equipment and materials necessary for manufacturing this technology. The conference itself will feature 12 sessions over three full days, and span a number of topics from flexible backplanes technologies, materials and substrates to manufacturing processes and equipment, consortia and prototype facilities’ activities and new product and display innovations, among others.

The USDC conference will return to the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort. Attendees have until January 29, 2006 to take advantage of pre-registration. For additional information and updates on the conference agenda, registration or hotel information, please visit: www.usdc.org/resources/Flex06/flexworkshop06.htm

Note to editors: Those interested in learning more about attending this year’s conference or receiving a copy of the final agenda may contact Marie Labrie at MCA (mlabrie@mcapr.com) for further information.

Contact:

Heidi Hoffman
USDC
408.993.8111
heidi@usdc.org

Marie Labrie
MCA
650.968.8900
mlabrie@mcapr.com

About the U.S. Display Consortium
The U.S. Display Consortium is an industry-led public/private partnership providing a common platform for flat panel display and flexible microelectronics manufacturers and developers, FPD users, and the supplier base. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the consortium’s primary mission is to fund supply-chain projects and share the results with USDC member companies. The USDC also provides a communication channel among industry, government and the financial communities for display issues; sponsors workshops to broaden the impact of technological developments; and educates consumers on the importance of displays in providing access to information technology. More information about the USDC can be found at www.usdc.org