Tower Semiconductor Awards Multi-Year Service Contract to Applied
Materials
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tower Semiconductor Ltd. and Applied Materials, Inc. announced today
that they have signed a five-year contract to support all Applied
Materials wafer processing systems at Tower’s Fab 2 manufacturing
facility in Migdal Haemek, Israel. Through its Applied Performance
Service program, the most cost-effective and flexible service
offering in the semiconductor industry, Applied will provide Tower with
committed system uptime at a low, predictable cost that varies with
factory loading – a critical benefit at a time of uncertain market
conditions.
“By leveraging Applied’s unmatched infrastructure, technology and global
expertise we expect to realize substantial cost and operating
efficiencies,” said Shimon Dahan, senior vice president, worldwide
operations. “We’re relying on Applied to maximize tool performance and
optimize maintenance cost at any load level, enabling us to focus on
delivering world-class CMOS and mixed-signal foundry services to our
customers while remaining competitive even when demand fluctuates.”
“Our Performance Service program is a powerful strategy for customers to
lower their overall costs and to align them with revenue by converting
fixed costs to variable expenses,” said Manfred Kerschbaum, senior vice
president and general manager of Applied Global Services. “Applied can
help Tower maintain its world class Fab metrics and operational
effectiveness in a time of lower fab loading and be ready to ramp
smoothly when conditions improve. This agreement is a testament to the
value proposition that we offer and demonstrates the growing momentum of
our service business at customers worldwide.”
Under the agreement, Applied will service all the Applied Materials
tools in Tower’s Fab 2, including CVD*, PVD, etch, metrology,
RTP, CMP and epitaxial deposition systems. Using an unmatched range of
engineering and logistics technologies including Applied’s ExpertConnect™
remote diagnostic capability, a team of local and internationally
located Applied certified engineers will provide around the clock
support to perform preventive and corrective maintenance, spare parts
management, parts cleaning and coating, and analytical services.
For more information about Applied’s comprehensive portfolio of service
solutions, visit www.appliedmaterials.com/products/index_pc2.html.
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM, TASE: TSEM) is a
pure-play independent specialty wafer foundry. Tower manufactures
integrated circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0 to 0.13-micron; it
also provides complementary technical services and design support. In
addition to digital CMOS process technology, Tower offers advanced
mixed-signal & RF-CMOS, Power Management, CMOS image-sensor and
non-volatile memory technologies. Through access to the process
portfolio of its fully owned subsidiary, Jazz Semiconductor, Tower
offers RF CMOS, Analog CMOS, Silicon and SiGe BiCMOS, SiGe C-BiCMOS,
Power CMOS and High Voltage CMOS. To provide world-class customer
service, Tower maintains two manufacturing facilities in Israel with
access to its fully owned subsidiary Jazz Semiconductor's fab in the
U.S. and manufacturing capacity in China through Jazz's partnerships
with ASMC and HHNEC. For more information, please visit www.towersemi.com
and www.jazzsemi.com.
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.
* CVD = chemical vapor deposition; PVD = physical vapor deposition;
RTP = rapid thermal processing; CMP = chemical-mechanical planarization
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