Applied Materials Sets Industry Milestone with 5,000th Multi-Chamber System; Single-Wafer, Multi-Chamber Systems Have Dramatically Changed the Way Semiconductors Are Made and Propelled Company to Industry Leadership.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1997--Applied Materials, Inc. has reached an unprecedented milestone in the global semiconductor equipment industry with the shipment of its 5,000th single-wafer, multi-chamber system. Virtually every chipmaker in the world has purchased these systems for their most demanding etch, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) applications. This is a significant accomplishment in an industry where few companies have achieved the benchmark of 1,000 systems.

The advanced capabilities of Applied Materials' single-wafer, multi-chamber systems have revolutionized the way semiconductor devices are manufactured, enabling ever-smaller device geometries that, in turn, have resulted in vast increases in computing power and speed. These systems have played a primary role in enabling the Information Age, helping the world's semiconductor manufacturers achieve a high level of growth during the past decade. Their rapid and widespread popularity also has opened new markets for Applied Materials, propelling the company to industry leadership within five years of its introduction.

G. Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research, commented, "Applied Materials' single-wafer, multi-chamber systems, with their vast array of process technologies, have changed the way the world's chips are made. The concepts have been so fundamental that major process equipment companies have copied them. Applied Materials' visionaries came up with systems that went far beyond what customers thought they wanted, looking well into future need."

"Applied has also used this approach to speed product development cycles to unprecedented levels, allowing it to enter, and also create, many new markets and sub-markets for it products," added Hutcheson. "Shipping five thousand of these systems is a landmark that will take Applied Materials' competitors years to match."

Beginning with the Precision 5000(R) CVD system, introduced in April 1987, the widespread adoption of the company's three multi-chamber systems, the Precision 5000, Endura(R) and Centura(R), launched Applied Materials to a position of sustained global leadership in the semiconductor equipment industry. Today, more than 3,000 of the Precision 5000 systems, hosting a wide range of CVD and etch technologies, are in use worldwide. As a tribute to this system's success, a Precision 5000 was placed on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C, on March 3, 1993. The Endura platform, launched in 1990 as the Endura(R) PVD system, now has an installed base of 1,000 systems. The company's third platform, the Centura(R), was announced in 1992 and now supports the majority of Applied Materials' most advanced process technologies.

"Process technology is what matters most to our customers, because the process determines the results on the wafer. Our single-wafer, multi-chamber systems have enabled us to speed up the introduction of leading-edge process technologies to our customers by reducing product development cycle time," noted James C. Morgan, Applied Materials' chairman and CEO. "We are very thankful to our customers, whose enthusiastic acceptance of these systems has contributed to making Applied Materials the leader it is today."

Applied Materials' single-wafer, multi-chamber systems have become the industry standard for many highly advanced front-end process technologies, such as dielectric and metal CVD, plasma etch, PVD, epitaxial deposition and rapid thermal processing. "Customers also are using our systems to group multiple process technologies into integrated sequences, both within a system and in groups of complementary systems. We believe these integrated applications will grow in importance in the foreseeable future," said Dr. Dan Maydan, Applied Materials' president.

"Having standard platforms has permitted us to provide a broad range of process solutions for our customers. We plan to use single-wafer, multi-chamber systems, along with our depth of expertise in the critical process technologies, to further expand our product line as we transition to 300mm wafers. Ultimately, we expect to have a complete set of 300mm products with exceptional capabilities," added Dr. Maydan.

To support the company's large global installed base of systems, both platform-based and other types, Applied Materials has built a world-class, global Installed Base Service and Support (IBSS) organization. IBSS employs more than 2,500 highly trained technical and process support engineers who install and maintain the company's systems at hundreds of customer fabs around the world.

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 System under the symbol "AMAT." Applied Materials' web site is http://www.AppliedMaterials.com . -0-

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