Applied Materials' Black Diamond Low k Wins Best Product Award
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2004--Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) today announced that its breakthrough Applied Producer(R) Black Diamond(R) low k film has won Semiconductor International's 2003 Editors' Choice Best Product Award. The award, which is based on product excellence as substantiated through customer testimonials, was presented at a ceremony held yesterday in Munich, Germany.
"The Editors' Choice Best Products program is different from traditional award competitions in that products are nominated by users, not by the companies that make or sell the product," said Pete Singer, editor-in-chief of Semiconductor International. "After products were nominated, we gathered additional information inputs from other users and from the product supplier. We ultimately based our decision on the superiority of the product in a semiconductor manufacturing environment."
Ushering in a new era for high-speed, low-power devices, Applied Materials' Black Diamond is used in millions of chips that are driving the latest mobile electronics, high-speed game consoles, networking systems and computers. Black Diamond is an insulation material that allows smaller, tightly spaced interconnect wires to move electronic signals through the device at multi-gigahertz speeds. Other crucial advantages Black Diamond offers include reduced power consumption with lower crosstalk for heightened performance. Black Diamond is the first low k film to be successfully implemented into volume production.
"We are honored to be recognized as a low k technology leader with our Applied Black Diamond product," said Farhad Moghadam, vice president and general manager of Dielectric Systems and Modules Product Business Group. "The hard work and collaboration of semiconductor companies worldwide enabled us to deliver the level of manufacturing performance required to win this award. Looking forward, we will continue to provide customers with a competitive edge by extending Black Diamond to multiple generations of smaller and higher-performing devices while using industry-standard manufacturing processes to deliver high productivity and low cost of ownership."
The Editors' Choice Best Product Award follows a celebratory event held in February to mark the breakthrough chipmakers have achieved using Black Diamond to manufacture low k chips. Multiple Applied Materials customers demonstrated the success of their Black Diamond-powered devices by showcasing them in a range of cutting-edge electronic products. To date, more than ten companies have products that incorporate the Black Diamond low k dielectric.
Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the largest supplier of products and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com.
CONTACT: Applied Materials, Inc.
Connie Duncan, 408-563-6209 (technical media)
Paul Bowman, 408-563-1698 (financial community)
SOURCE: Applied Materials, Inc.