Applied Materials Forum Spotlights ''The Future of Strain Engineering''

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2004--Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT), the global leader in chip processing technology and services, is hosting a distinguished panel of senior executives and prominent technology experts to discuss strain engineering for advanced transistors on December 14, 2004, in San Francisco, Calif. This technology represents a critical breakthrough that enables the industry to address performance and power issues without making significant design changes.

    Panel:   Dr. Carlos Diaz, Deputy Director, Logic Technology
             Division, TSMC

             Dr. Tahir Ghani, 45nm Front-End Program Manager, Intel
             Corporation

             Dr. Francois Henley, CEO, SiGen Corporation

             Professor Judy Hoyt, MIT

             Dr. Ben McKee, Vice President, TI Fellow Emeritus

             Dr. Ken Rim, SRDC, IBM Corporation

             Dr. Mark Pinto, Senior Vice President, Applied Materials

             Panel moderator will be Professor Scott Thompson,
             University of Florida

    What:    Strained silicon is an innovative process technology
             that has demonstrated exceptional gains in transistor
             performance. Expert panelists representing the vanguard
             of this technology breakthrough will discuss the 
             challenges and future of strain engineering.

    Why:     As transistor dimensions shrink to the 45nm node,
             scaling alone cannot provide the required performance
             benefits. New engineering techniques, including SiGe,
             ultra-high stress films and other methods that produce
             strained silicon are needed to maintain the pace of
             innovation described by Moore's Law.

    When:    Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004, from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm PST.

    Where:   Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason Street, San Francisco

    Agenda:  5:00 pm - 6:00 pm   Registration, reception and dinner
             6:00 pm - 7:30 pm   Panel discussion, Q&A

For the complete program and to register for this invitation-only event, visit: www.appliedmaterials.com/about/strain_panel_session_event.html

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