SMARTKEM, INC. CREATES WORLD’S FIRST MONOLITHIC MICRO LED DISPLAY USING ORGANIC THIN-FILM TRANSISTORS

Manchester, England – February 15, 2023 – SmartKem, Inc. (OTCQB: SMTK), a company seeking to reshape the world of electronics with its revolutionary semiconductor materials that will enable a new generation of displays, today announced the creation of the world’s first monolithic micro-LED display using organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs).

This new method of processing a thin-film transistor backplane on top of Gallium Nitride LEDs has the potential to accelerate the commercialisation of micro-LED displays. Consumer electronics companies are actively developing micro-LED displays since they promise higher brightness, lower power consumption and longer lifetime. This is particularly important for portable powered displays such as smartwatches and AR/VR displays which cannot accommodate large batteries.

Today’s existing VR & AR headsets use LCD and OLED displays, lacking brightness, resolution, power efficiency and lifetime. Existing efforts at establishing micro-LED manufacturing use physical transfer of LEDs from the wafer upon which they are manufactured to the TFT display backplane, where they must be laser welded to the contact pad of the transistor to make an electrical connection. Since, for high resolution displays, millions of tiny LEDs need to be transferred from one place to another, then the potential for placement error is large. If a 99.9% placement yield is achieved, then a full HD colour display will have over 6,000 faulty sub-pixel LEDs that would need to be identified, removed, and re-attached. Once the 6,000 faulty LEDs have been replaced, a 99.9% yield will still mean six of these will be faulty, so your job of manufacturing a perfect display is not yet finished. It is the process of seeking out the faults and then replacing them one by one which is slowing down commercialisation of this new type of display.

SmartKem’s unique and patented core chemistry allows its semiconductor inks to be processed at the low temperature of 80°C. With SmartKem’s lower temperature, you can process its transistors directly on top of the micro-LEDs. This eliminates the mass transfer and laser welding processes, and the fabrication of OTFTs can use existing low-cost manufacturing tools currently used for LCD backplane manufacturing. This approach cannot be carried out with other types of thin-film transistors as they are processed at the much higher temperature of 300°C, which damages the micro-LEDs, and is why you need to make them separately and then laboriously join them together one by one.

SmartKem’s OTCQB information can be found on the OTC Markets website:
www.otcmarkets.com/stock/SMTK/overview

About SmartKem
SmartKem is seeking to reshape the world of electronics with a revolutionary semiconductor platform that enables the next generation of low-cost displays and sensors. SmartKem’s patented TRUFLEX® inks are solution deposited at a low temperature, on low-cost substrates to make organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) circuits. The company’s semiconductor platform can be used in a number of applications including miniLED displays, AMOLED displays, AR and VR headsets, fingerprint sensors and integrated logic circuits. SmartKem develops its materials at its research and development facility in Manchester, UK, and its semiconductor manufacturing process at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) at Sedgefield, UK. The company has an extensive IP portfolio including over 175 patents across 17 patent families. For more information, visit: www.smartkem.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @SmartKemTRUFLEX

Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements relating to the SmartKem’s expectations regarding its market position and market opportunity, expectations and plans as to its product development, manufacturing and sales, and relations with its partners and investors. These statements are not historical facts but rather are based on SmartKem Inc.’s current expectations, estimates, and projections regarding its business, operations and other similar or related factors. Words such as “may,” will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “believe,” “estimate,” and other similar or elated expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult or impossible to predict and, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update information in this release to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.

Contact Details:
Barbra Keck, Chief Financial Officer, SmartKem
b.keck@smartkem.com

Selena Kirkwood, Head of Communications, SmartKem
s.kirkwood@smartkem.com