Applied Materials Ships 500th Mirra CMP System; Success of the Mirra System Ranks Applied Materials as the World's Leading Supplier of CMP Systems.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2000

Extending its leadership position in the fast growing CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) market, Applied Materials, Inc. today reported shipment of its 500th Mirra(R) CMP system. The Mirra system accounts for the industry's largest installed base of multi-platen CMP tools used to planarize uneven wafer surfaces. Selected by the world's top ten chipmakers, the success of the Mirra system has made Applied Materials the leading supplier of CMP equipment to the semiconductor industry for the past two years.

"Achieving this significant milestone is a reflection of the versatility, reliability and performance of the Mirra CMP system," said Chris Smith, vice president and general manager of Applied Materials' CMP division. "We are proud of this accomplishment and remain committed to offering customers state-of-the art production-worthy CMP solutions. In keeping with this goal, we recently added several critical advancements to the Mirra CMP system that include leading-edge copper polishing technology, as well as integrated Mesa(TM) cleaning and film metrology capability. Customer acceptance for our copper and integrated solutions has been very strong."

Introduced in December 1995, the Mirra CMP system combines an innovative architecture with key advances in polishing technology to provide a flexible, production-ready system suitable for all CMP applications, including copper interconnects. The Mirra Mesa system, introduced in 1999, addresses the industry's need for integrated wafer cleaning technology in a compact, single-system design that delivers high-throughput while requiring a minimum amount of cleanroom space.

According to market research firm Dataquest, the market for CMP systems was estimated to be $1.04 billion in 1999 and is expected to grow to $2.5 billion by the year 2004, making it one of the strongest growing segments of the semiconductor equipment market.

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.