News Release

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jun 02, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) today announced that it is hosting a forum on Monday, June 6 in Burlingame, Calif., in conjunction with the 2005 IEEE International Interconnect Technology Conference (IITC). The forum will examine projected risks, roadblocks and opportunities as well as share knowledge on engineering manufacturable interconnect structures for 45nm and below devices, a major challenge for the semiconductor industry.

Industry leaders will explore the integration and packaging of porous low k materials, metallization resistivity and reliability challenges, maintaining low k integrity during etch, and the detection of systematic and "buried" defects.

Panel: Moderator, Professor Scott Thompson, University of Florida

Dr. Paul Besser, Fellow, AMD
Dr. Bob Wisnieff, Senior Integration Manager, IBM Corporation
Dr. C. H. Jan, Senior BEOL Program Manager, Intel Corporation
Dr. John Chen, Vice President, Advanced Technology
Engineering, Nvidia
Dr. Douglas Yu, Senior Director, Advanced Module Technology, TSMC
Dr. Farhad Moghadam, Senior Vice President, Thin Films Group, Applied Materials

Why: As interconnect dimensions shrink to the 45nm node, scaling alone cannot provide the required performance benefits. Low k dielectric films that reduce line-to-line capacitance and allow interconnects to be built closer together with less risk of electrical signal leakage must be advanced to a k-effective of 2.5. Rising resistivity of the thin copper lines must be addressed to maintain device performance and reliability. The need for advanced barrier and gap-fill solutions is critical to reduce resistivity and eliminate voiding, and improved inspection techniques capable of finding systematic defects are also required. All these are new and significant process issues that the industry must work together to understand and resolve.

When: Monday, June 6, 2005, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. PDT
Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1333 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame

Agenda: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration and reception
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Panel discussion, Q&A

For the complete program and to register for this event, visit: https://programs.regweb.com/amat/IITC05/

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT), headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the largest supplier of equipment and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com.

SOURCE: Applied Materials, Inc.

Applied Materials, Inc.
Connie Duncan, 408-563-6209