Applied Materials Launches Breakthrough E3 Equipment and Process
Control Solution for Boosting Fab Productivity
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied Materials, Inc. today announced its Applied E3™
advanced equipment and process control solution, a comprehensive factory
automation (FA) software package for improving the productivity and
reducing the costs of semiconductor, flat panel display and photovoltaic
solar cell manufacturing. Utilizing proprietary algorithms, the Applied
E3 system can boost process capability by >30%,
reduce unscheduled down time, and shorten cycle time to achieve up to a
20% increase in overall equipment effectiveness. The Applied E3 system
uniquely integrates all critical equipment automation and process
control components to deliver the most flexible, user-friendly and
powerful fab-wide Equipment Engineering System solution on the market
today.
“Customers understand that equipment
automation is a huge opportunity to exploit the unused potential of
their existing assets and to reduce costs,”
said Manfred Kerschbaum, senior vice president and general manager of
Applied Global Services. “The E3 system
revolutionizes equipment automation and control technology, which has
historically been complex and expensive to implement and maintain. With
its graphical development environment and pre-configured modules, the
Applied E3 system is quick to deploy and easy to update and extend,
offering a fast and cost-effective route to raise factory output. The
Applied E3 system has been enthusiastically received by multiple major
manufacturers and is currently being used in volume production.”
Using an advanced, scalable software architecture, the Applied E3
solution provides a powerful combination of modules. Equipment
automation, data collection and logic handling simplify the
construction, deployment, and maintenance of automated process control
(APC) applications. Fault detection and classification (FDC) collects
and analyzes equipment parameters to provide rapid feedback on process
performance issues and avoid unexpected failures that decrease
productivity. Run-to-run control (R2R) uses patented feedback algorithms
to reduce process variability by adjusting processing parameters in real
time, enabling more consistent output, higher yield and greater
productivity. Equipment performance tracking (EPT) monitors every
processing tool in the factory and provides visual and statistical
reporting tools to identify bottlenecks and improve factory performance.
The Applied E3 system is part of a broad portfolio of manufacturing
automation solutions and services designed to help companies improve
their factories’ productivity and reduce costs
by managing, controlling and automating all aspects of their factory and
tool operations. As a leading supplier of capital equipment and
processing technology, Applied has effectively utilized its unique
experience in equipment design, process control and automation to
improve predictability, reduce waste and maximize overall equipment
effectiveness.
Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in
Nanomanufacturing Technology™ solutions with a
broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products
for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar
photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass. At
Applied Materials, we apply Nanomanufacturing Technology to improve the
way people live. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.
