Applied Materials, Inc. is an American corporation that supplies equipment, services and software for the manufacture of semiconductor (

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

) chips for electronics,

flat panel displays A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display device, display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipment. Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight, p ...

for computers, smartphones, televisions, and solar products. Integral to the growth of Silicon Valley, the company also supplies equipment to produce coatings for flexible electronics, packaging and other applications. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

History

Founded in 1967 by Michael A. McNeilly and others, Applied Materials

went public Going public may refer to: * Initial public offering, financial action by a business * Whistleblowing, exposure of previously private information * ''Going Public'' (Newsboys album), 1994 * ''Going Public'' (Bruce Johnston album), 1977 {{Dis ...

in 1972. In subsequent years, the company diversified, until James C. Morgan became CEO in 1976 and returned the company's focus to its core business of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. By 1978, sales increased by 17%. In 1984, Applied Materials became the first U.S. semiconductor equipment manufacturer to open its own technology center in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the first semiconductor equipment company to operate a service center in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In 1987, Applied introduced a

chemical vapor deposition Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition method used to produce high quality, and high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In typical CVD, the wafer (substra ...

(CVD) machine called the Precision 5000, which differed from existing machines by incorporating diverse processes into a single machine that had multiple process chambers. In 1992, the corporation settled a lawsuit with three former employees for an estimated $600,000. The suit complained that the employees were driven out of the company after complaining about the courses Applied Scholastics had been hired to teach there. In 1993, the Applied Materials' Precision 5000 was inducted into the Smithsonian Institution's permanent collection of Information Age technology. In November 1996, Applied Materials acquired two Israeli companies for an aggregate amount of $285 million. Opal Technologies and Orbot Instruments for $175 million and $110 million in cash, respectively. Orbot produces systems for inspecting patterned silicon wafers for yield enhancement during the semiconductor manufacturing process, as well as systems for inspecting masks used during the patterning process. Opal develops and manufactures high-speed

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...

systems used by semiconductor manufacturers to verify critical dimensions during the production of integrated circuits. In 2000,

Etec Systems, Inc. Etec Systems was an American producer of scanning electron microscopes, electron beam lithography tools, and laser beam lithography tools from 1970 until 2005. It was located in Hayward, California, and Hillsboro, Oregon. Company history Etec ...

was purchased. On June 27, 2001, Applied Materials acquired Israeli company Oramir Semiconductor Equipment Ltd., a supplier of laser cleaning technologies for semiconductor wafers, in a purchase business combination for $21 million in cash. In January 2008, Applied Materials purchased Baccini, an Italian company and designer of tools used in manufacturing solar cells. In 2009, Applied Materials opened its Solar Technology Center, the world's largest commercial solar energy research and development facility, in Xi'an, China. Applied Materials' acquisition of Semitool Inc. was completed in December 2009. Applied Materials announced its acquisition of Varian Semiconductor in May 2011. Applied Materials announced its merger with Tokyo Electron on September 24, 2013. If approved by government regulators, the combined company, to be called Eteris, would be the world's largest supplier of semiconductor processing equipment, with a total market value of $29 billion. However, on April 27, 2015, Applied Materials announced that its merger with Tokyo Electron has been scrapped due to

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

concerns and fears of dominating the semiconductor equipment industry. Applied Materials is named among FORTUNE World's Most Admired Companies in 2018. In 2019, Applied Materials announced its intention to buy semiconductor equipment manufacturer (and former

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

group member) Kokusai Electric Corporation from private equity firm

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

for $2.2 billion, but terminated the deal in March 2021 citing delays in getting approval from China's regulator.

Finances

For the fiscal year 2021, Applied Materials reported earnings of US$5.888 billion, with an annual revenue of US$23.063 billion, a 34% increase over the previous fiscal. Applied Materials market capitalization was valued at over US$36.6 billion in November 2018.

Organization

Applied is organized into three major business sectors: Semiconductor Products, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. Applied Materials also operates a venture investing arm called Applied Ventures.

Semiconductor Products

The company develops and manufactures equipment used in the wafer fabrication steps of creating a semiconductor device, including

atomic layer deposition Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin-film deposition technique based on the sequential use of a gas-phase chemical process; it is a subclass of chemical vapour deposition. The majority of ALD reactions use two chemicals called precursors (also ...

(ALD),

(CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), rapid thermal processing (RTP),

chemical mechanical polishing Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) or planarization is a process of smoothing surfaces with the combination of chemical and mechanical forces. It can be thought of as a hybrid of chemical etching and free abrasive polishing. Description The proc ...

(CMP), etch, ion implantation and wafer inspection. The company acquired Semitool for this group in late 2009. In 2019, Applied Materials agreed to buy semiconductor manufacturer Kokusai for $2.2 Billion.

Applied Global Services

The Applied Global Services (AGS) group offers equipment installation support and warranty extended support, as well as maintenance support. AGS also offers new and refurbished equipment, as well as upgrades and enhancements for installed base equipment. This sector also includes automation software for manufacturing environments.

Display and Adjacent Markets

AGS combined an existing business unit with the display business of Applied Films Corporation, acquired in mid-2006. The manufacturing process for TFT LCDs (thin film transistor liquid crystal displays), commonly employed in computer monitors and televisions, is similar to that employed for

s. In cleanroom environments both TFT-LCD and integrated circuit production use

photolithography In integrated circuit manufacturing, photolithography or optical lithography is a general term used for techniques that use light to produce minutely patterned thin films of suitable materials over a substrate, such as a silicon wafer, to protect ...

, chemical and physical vapor deposition, and testing.

Energy and Environmental Solutions (former sector)

In 2006, the company acquired Applied Films, a glass coating and web coating business. Also in 2006, Applied announced it was entering the solar manufacturing equipment business. The solar, glass and web businesses were organized into the company's Energy and Environmental Solutions (EES) sector. In 2007, Applied Materials announced the Applied SunFab thin film photovoltaic module production line, with

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

or tandem junction capability. SunFab applies silicon thin film layers to glass substrate that then produce electricity when exposed to sunlight. In 2009, the company's SunFab line was certified by the

International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...

(IEC). In 2010, Applied announced that it was abandoning the thin film market and closing down their SunFab division. Also in 2007, the company acquired privately held, Switzerland-based HCT Shaping Systems SA, a specialist in wafer sawing tools for both solar and semiconductor wafer manufacture, paying approximately $475 million. In 2008, Applied acquired privately held, Italy-based Baccini SpA for $330M, company that worked in the metallization steps of solar cell manufacturing. The company was listed at the top of VLSI Research's list of supplier of photovoltaic manufacturing equipment for 2008, with sales of $797M. Since July 2016 the Energy and Environmental Solutions sector is no longer reported separately. Remaining solar business activities have been included in "Corporate and Others".

Facilities

Applied operates in many locations globally, including in Europe, Japan,

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

(principally the United States), Israel, China, Italy, India, Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Applied moved into its Bowers Avenue headquarters in Santa Clara, CA, in 1974.

Management

* Chairman of the Board of Directors: Thomas J. Iannotti * President and Chief Executive Officer: Gary E. Dickerson * Chief Financial Officer: Brice Hill * Chief Technology Officer: Omkaram Nalamasu

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1967 establishments in California Companies based in Santa Clara, California Companies listed on the Nasdaq American companies established in 1967 Computer companies established in 1967 Computer hardware companies Electronics companies established in 1967 Solar energy companies of the United States Equipment semiconductor companies Semiconductor companies of the United States Superfund sites in California Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Thin-film cell manufacturers 1970s initial public offerings