Applied Materials Named CMP Leader for 6th Consecutive Year by Gartner Dataquest and VLSI Research
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 2004--Newly released 2003 market share data from industry research firms VLSI Research and Gartner Dataquest rank Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) as the leading supplier of CMP(1) systems for the 6th consecutive year. Strong demand by every 300mm chipmaker worldwide for the advanced technology of the Applied Reflexion(R) and Applied Reflexion LK tools has resulted in record shipments to customers of 300mm CMP systems for all CMP applications, including copper/low k interconnects.
"Our Reflexion 300mm copper CMP systems are used by every 300mm semiconductor manufacturer worldwide and have processed more than 50 million wafers, ranging from 130nm production down to 45nm development. No other CMP system in the world can come close to this exceptional milestone," stated Ming Xi, general manager of Applied Materials' Planarization and Plating group. "We thank our customers for their outstanding support and encouragement in reaching this achievement."
Applied Materials will further extend its leadership in CMP with an announcement at SEMICON West 2004 heralding a breakthrough in planarization technology that dramatically reduces costs while boosting performance to enable the next three chip generations.
"Applied's CMP systems have set the standard for copper CMP for both 200mm and 300mm manufacturing," said G. Dan Hutcheson, CEO and president of VLSI Research. "Chip manufacturers have chosen Applied's CMP systems because of their exceptional flexibility, extendibility and process control in copper production. We expect Applied's CMP systems to continue their strong momentum and continue to deliver the leading-edge technology that has distinguished them so decisively from the competition."
According to Gartner Dataquest, the total market for CMP was estimated to be $728 million in 2003, and is expected to grow to $1.2 billion in 2006.
Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the largest supplier of equipment and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com.
(1) CMP: chemical mechanical polishing
CONTACT: Applied Materials, Inc. Betty Newboe, 408-563-0647 (media) Paul Bowman, 408-563-1698 (financial community) SOURCE: Applied Materials, Inc.