Applied Materials Leads the Industry in CMP for 7th Year.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) boosted its market share in CMP (chemical mechanical planarization) to 73% in calendar year 2004, according to Gartner Dataquest's April report(1), retaining its leadership position in the estimated $1.3 billion (2004) CMP market for the seventh straight year. Applied Materials' comprehensive and advanced line of CMP solutions are critical technologies, enabling customers to continuously enhance the performance of their transistors and interconnects.

"Our CMP leadership is built on superior process control combined with high productivity, utilizing proprietary, patented breakthroughs in polishing head and endpoint technology," said Dr. Farhad Moghadam, senior vice president and general manager of Applied Materials' Thin Films Group. "Applied's focus on cost-effective, low-downforce CMP technology has contributed significantly to customers' increased use of our CMP systems for all types of leading-edge interconnect structures, including the most advanced copper/low k designs, as well as performance-critical transistor steps like shallow trench isolation and pre-metal dielectric polishing."

The Applied Reflexion(R) LK system is the industry standard for 300mm CMP, providing the technology and productivity advances required by customers for manufacturing 90nm transistor and interconnect structures and fabrication of emerging 65nm designs. With its ability to precisely control polishing pressure in small increments across the wafer, the Reflexion system's Titan Contour head technology has proven its ability to enhance customers' yield and profitability as well as enable their move to next-generation device production.

In 2004, Applied released its revolutionary Applied Reflexion(R) LK Ecmp (electrochemical mechanical planarization) system, which uses electric charge to remove copper with virtually no downforce on the wafer. This new technology enables chipmakers to planarize the most advanced dual damascene structures at high speed with minimal dishing, erosion and defects, improving throughput by up to 25% and reducing operating cost by up to 30% compared to conventional copper polishing systems. The Applied Reflexion(R) LK Ecmp system was celebrated by IEEE Spectrum Magazine in its January 2005 special issue featuring "5 Big Technology Projects That Make A Difference."

Forward-Looking Statements. This press release contains forward looking statements, including those related to Applied Materials' technological leadership, product capabilities, strategic position and opportunities. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the sustainability of demand in the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment industries, which is subject to many factors, including global economic conditions, business spending, consumer confidence, demand for electronic products and semiconductors, and geopolitical uncertainties; the timing, rate, amount and sustainability of capital spending for new technology, such as 300mm and sub-100 nanometer applications; the company's ability to successfully develop, deliver and support a broad range of products and services and expand its markets; and other risks described in Applied Materials' Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. All forward-looking statements are based on management's estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date hereof and the company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT), headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the largest supplier of equipment and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com

(1) "Wafer Fab Equipment Market Share Reshuffled in Boom of 2004," Dean Freeman, Mark Stromberg, Klaus Rinnen, Bob Johnson, Takashi Ogawa; Gartner Dataquest Report April 1, 2005.