AKT Ships Milestone 400th PECVD System for Flat Panel Display Manufacturing

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 12, 2004--AKT, Inc., an Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) company and the world's leading supplier of PECVD* systems to the flat panel display (FPD) industry, has shipped its 400th PECVD system. The 400th system, a Generation 5 AKT-15K PECVD, was delivered to a customer in the People's Republic of China where it will be used to manufacture LCD* televisions. Other AKT PECVD systems are installed at virtually every major TFT* LCD manufacturer in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

"The Flat Panel Display industry continues to expand rapidly with the growing popularity of digital and high definition LCD televisions," said Wendell Blonigan, vice president and general manager of Display Business Products, AKT. "Our systems' high-productivity and reliability provide customers with the most cost-efficient, high-quality deposition technologies needed to transition to larger substrates in very short time periods. Display makers are investing heavily in advanced generation fabs using Generation-6* and leading-edge Generation-7* technologies. AKT continues to work closely with customers to ensure they have the latest innovations in PECVD process technology that will enable their fabs to rapidly achieve high yields and enhanced profitability."

“The Flat Panel Display industry continues to expand rapidly with the growing popularity of digital and high definition LCD televisions”

AKT's PECVD systems utilize the field-proven system architecture and technology that have made it the industry leader in CVD equipment. The systems can deposit a range of single-layer or in situ multi-layer films of doped and undoped amorphous silicon (a-Si), silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon oxynitride (SiON) and silicon nitride (SiNx).

AKT's latest CVD system, announced in February, is the AKT-40K PECVD for manufacturing Generation 7 substrates, which are needed to cost-effectively produce large-format high-resolution LCD TVs. These substrates measure approximately 1.8 meters x 2.2 meters and can produce up to eight 40-inch or six 46-inch television panels per substrate. AKT shipped the world's first Generation-7 PECVD production equipment in July, 2004.

AKT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT), is the largest supplier of PECVD products and services to the global TFT-LCD industry. AKT has consistently led the industry in bringing technical innovation, reduced cost of ownership and continuous yield improvement with its products. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com.

PECVD: plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

LCD: liquid crystal display

TFT: Thin Film Transistor

Generation-6: 1.5m x 1.85m substrates

Generation-7: 1.8m x 2.2m substrates