Applied Materials Introduces High Productivity Silicon Etch System; Silicon Etch MxP+ Centura Joins Silicon Etch DPS Centura to Provide a Complete Etch Processing Solution.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 1996--Applied Materials Inc., the leading global supplier of etch processing equipment, announced a significant advancement in high productivity silicon etching of 200mm wafers with its new Silicon Etch MxP+ Centura.

Extending the performance of the company's proven Silicon Etch MxP technology, the MxP+ offers important advantages in system throughput, defect density and cost of ownership.

The Silicon Etch MxP+ Centura is the process and productivity solution for applications such as shallow trench isolation (STI), capacitor formation and polysilicon interconnects. The new Silicon Etch MxP+ Centura complements the recently announced high-density plasma Silicon Etch DPS Centura, which provides critical gate and polycide interconnect etch capability.

"Customers are showing tremendous interest in our DPS and MxP+ products for advanced silicon etch applications," said Gerald Yin, general manager of the Silicon Etch Division. "These products provide leading productivity and complementary process capability for the next three device generations."

A three-chamber Silicon Etch MxP+ Centura has a typical throughput of greater than 50 wafers per hour. Utilizing the standard electrostatic chuck, the MxP+ offers excellent particle performance, averaging less than 0.08 particle per square centimeter at sizes greater than or equal to 0.2 micron (RF-on). New chamber liners, as well as simplified cathode and gas distribution systems contribute to longer production runs between routine maintenance -- now more than 3000 wafers between cleans -- with faster wet clean and recovery times of less than 6 hours.

MxP+ chamber technology is primarily offered on Applied Materials' production-proven Centura platform. More than 350 Centura systems have been installed worldwide for Applied Materials etch applications. The MxP+ chamber will also be available on the company's Precision 5000 platform. Shipments of the Silicon Etch MxP+ Centura will begin in the company's first fiscal quarter of 1997.

Over the past three years, Applied Materials' etch MxP-series has become one of the industry's most successful technologies for a wide variety of silicon, oxide and metal etching. More than 1,000 Silicon Etch MxP chambers are currently in use worldwide.

Applied Materials Inc. is a Fortune 500 global growth company and the world's largest supplier of wafer fabrication systems and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "AMAT." Applied Materials' web site is http://www.AppliedMaterials.com.

CONTACT: Applied Materials Inc.

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