News Release

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 12, 2000--Applied Materials, Inc., the leading supplier of etch systems to the global semiconductor industry, significantly increased its momentum in the dielectric etch market with the shipment of over 400 Dielectric Etch Super e(TM) chambers. This achievement, reached just 14 months after introduction, marks one of the fastest ramps of an etch product in the history of the company.

"We are very pleased by the extraordinary acceptance of our Super e chamber," said Diana Ma, vice president and general manager of Applied Materials' Dielectric Etch Division. "Our MERIE dielectric etch technology has had a dramatic impact on the marketplace. In addition to providing leading-edge technology and productivity, our customers have been able to cost-effectively extend the life of their etch systems through multiple device generation by implementing simple upgrades."

The Super e chamber is part of Applied Materials' line of successful MERIE (magnetically enhanced reactive ion etch)-based systems. This technology has been continuously refined to meet the demands of advanced-generation processing. Renowned for its high throughput, high uptime and cost-effective technology, more than 2,500 chambers using Applied Materials' MERIE technology have been shipped to customers since its introduction in 1994.

"We expect Applied Materials' MERIE systems to remain a cornerstone of etch technology for years to come," said John Hoffman, vice president and co-general manager of Applied Materials' Etch Products Business Group. "The high productivity and low operating cost of the Super e chamber has propelled it into a leadership position in dielectric etch production, especially in cost-sensitive applications at foundries and memory manufacturers where the ability to operate with high uptime and reliability are paramount."

In addition to the Super e chamber, which addresses a wide range of non-critical, sub-0.18 micron oxide etch applications, Applied Materials offers its new Dielectric Etch eMax(TM) chamber introduced in June 2000. The Dielectric Etch eMax is designed for advanced sub-0.13 micron and beyond applications, including self-aligned, high aspect ratio and logic contacts, as well as dual damascene and other low (kappa) dielectric films. These two systems, combined with Applied Materials Dielectric Etch IPS(TM) system and its unique capability to perform etch, resist strip and barrier removal in a single chamber, provide a complete portfolio of the most advanced dielectric etch solutions in the industry.

All dielectric etch chambers are available on Applied Materials' enhanced Etch Centura(R) II multi-chamber platform, providing high reliability for volume manufacturing. These systems can be configured with up to four process chambers, allowing a significant operational cost advantage over more limited capacity three-chamber systems.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) is a leader of the Information Age and the world's largest supplier of products and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is http://www.appliedmaterials.com.

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