SCIENCE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Applied Materials, Inc., (Nasdaq:AMAT), the largest supplier of equipment and services to the global semiconductor industry, today highlighted its plans to help enable the future of semiconductor devices built on a nanometric scale. By extending its product line to sub-100-nanometer device generations, the Company is enabling the development of so-called "nano-chips" that employ nanometer dimension feature sizes. Additionally, Applied Materials plans to ship its first fully integrated Process Module(TM) systems -- several individual systems that work together as a single unit to improve output of chips -- by the end of the calendar year. Today, semiconductor manufacturers are primarily using 0.18 micron (180-nanometer) designs and are rapidly transitioning to 0.13 micron (130-nanometer) designs, to allow for more functions on a chip. As a result of the nano-chip revolution, more powerful, portable and affordable electronics products will be brought to market and consumers may soon see the merging of television, DVDs, games, cell phones and computers into single products. In the not-so-distant future, chips will become capable of storing billions of units of information in the size of a dime or smaller. Access to products once squarely in the realm of science fiction such as wearable watch-sized video communicators and PC's, real-time automatic speech translation, and other innovations, becomes possible as chip power and affordability reach new levels. "Applied Materials success is testimony to its long history of introducing solutions which leap-frog current products in the marketplace, applying the lessons of continuous improvement, and again commercializing the most advanced technology for our customers," said James C. Morgan, chairman and chief executive officer of Applied Materials. "Our equipment that enables nanometer technology and Process Modules is clearly leap-frog technology that will significantly advance the future of chipmaking." "As the time between device generations shortens and the challenges continue to mount, we believe that Applied Materials' broad experience in multiple processes, and our considerable resources and worldwide support capabilities offer the most value and least risk to our customers as the industry transitions to more complex chip manufacturing requirements," Morgan added. "These capabilities will be a major differentiator for Applied Materials moving forward." For additional information visit www.appliedmaterials.com