ESI Announces DiamondBlaze™ 5000 & 7000 Shipments

ESI's DiamondBlaze™ product line cuts all strengthened glass products, including Corning® Gorilla Glass and Willow Glass, to enable thinner, lighter, and lower-cost touch screens for consumer devices while offering improved resistance to damage.ESI's considerable knowledge of laser systems and microfabrication technologies lowers overall cost for touch panel manufacturers while enabling future device designs.

The DiamondBlaze™ product line employs a laser-based micro-disruption™ process to rapidly singulate strengthened glass with high yield, industry-leading cutting speeds and minimal edge damage. ESI's proprietary process delivers optimal yields on Corning's® Gorilla NBT Glass products with thicknesses down to 0.4mm and central tension (CT) values ranging from 40 to 100. The DiamondBlaze™ has also been demonstrated to cut previous generations of chemically strengthened glass across a wide thickness range.

ESI's DiamondBlaze™ tools are positioned to meet consumer electronics manufacturers' demands for stronger, thinner materials with lower cost of ownership. "We are very pleased to announce these shipments of our DiamondBlaze™ 5000 and DiamondBlaze™ 7000 products, and we are excited by the growth opportunities they present. We believe the cost of ownership provided by this technology will allow our customers to save money by enabling cost-effective manufacturing of next-generation, more robust, touch panel modules," said Michael Darwin, VP and General Manager of ESI's Industrial Products Division.

The DiamondBlaze™ range of products covers Gen 4.5 up to Gen 6 manufacturing lines. All systems support factory automation for ease of system integration into existing and future factory floors.

About ESI, Inc.

ESI is a leading supplier of innovative, laser-based manufacturing solutions for the microtechnology industry. Our systems enable precise structuring and testing of micron to submicron features in electronic devices, semiconductors, LEDs and other high-value components. We partner with our customers to make breakthrough technologies possible in the microelectronics, semiconductor and other emerging industries. Founded in 1944, ESI is headquartered in Portland, Ore., with global operations from the Pacific Northwest to the Pacific Rim. More information is available at www.esi.com.