Samsung Electronics Press Release

SEOUL, Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Nov. 28, 2005—Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., announced today that it has developed the world’s largest transmissive TFT LCD (thin-film transistor, liquid crystal display), with sufficiently high resolution to display digital television content. The seven-inch, 640x480 (VGA-standard) flexible display uses a transparent plastic substrate that is thinner, lighter and more durable than the conventional LCD glass panels used today. Moreover, the full-color transmissive LCD panel maintains a constant thickness even when it is bent.

Considered the next-generation in flat panel displays, this technology involves the use of pliable plastic instead of rigid glass substrates in TFT-LCD production. The plastic will not break when flexed, allowing much greater freedom in commercial designs requiring flexible full-color, high-resolution display components. The seven-inch flexible TFT-LCD is optimized for mobility applications, including cell phones and notebook computers. System designers and OEMs also may apply the advanced Samsung display technology to new applications, such as fashion-enhancing or wearable electronic display designs, thanks to its differentiated flexible format.

The new display is double the size of Samsung’s five-inch flexible LCD display prototype announced in January 2005.

With this advancement, Samsung has overcome daunting problems involving the plastic substrate’s heat sensitivity including a previous challenge to maintain the display’s substrate thickness when subjected to typical commercial thermal conditions. Samsung developed a low-temperature processing technique that can be used to manufacture the display’s amorphous thin-film transistors, color filters and liquid crystals at process temperatures much lower than standard glass-based, amorphous silicon (a-Si) technology.

Drawing on technology adopted for the production of low-temperature (less than 130 degrees Celsius) a-Si TFT LCD and color filter, Samsung’s proprietary LCD technology minimizes substrate deformation by preventing not only changes in thickness but also distortion of images by binding two extremely-thin panels together through a new proprietary system design.

The latest flexible LCD panel was developed under a three-year program funded by Samsung Electronics’ next-generation display development group under the auspices of the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, supported by Samsung’s Corporate Research Fund.

Specification of Samsung 7” a-Si TFT-LCD Model

Display Mode:                Transmissive
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Screen Size (diagonal):          7 inches”
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Resolution:                  640 x 480 x RBG (114 ppi)
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Aperture Ratio:              40 percent
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Brightness:                  100 nit
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Color Saturation:              60 percent (of NTSC)
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About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2004 sales reaching US$55.2 billion and net income of US$10.3 billion reported by the parent company. Employing approximately 113,600 people in over 90 offices in 48 countries, the company consists of five primary business units: the Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com