RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, announced today that Applied Materials, Inc. has joined the consortium’s community of 23 companies and partners plus 100 universities worldwide.

“As the leading chip equipment company, Applied Materials is one of the semiconductor industry’s major technology innovators and a key contributor to the continuing advance of Moore’s Law,” said Larry Sumney, CEO and president of the SRC. “The addition of Applied provides a strategic expansion of SRC’s ecosystem and enhances the industry’s ability to continue to move university research toward commercial application. Applied’s presence means a strengthening of each of SRC’s areas of vision for the industry.”

Working with SRC members, Applied Materials will take a lead role in collaborating on enhancements to the research agenda for materials and processes associated with semiconductor manufacturing. Applied joined other SRC members last week in planning the next five years of research by consortium members for the advancement of the chip industry.

“The industry’s ability to sustain Moore’s Law through its technology roadmap depends on extensive collaboration in selecting and supporting the most promising research directions,” noted Mark Pinto, chief technology officer of Applied Materials. “The SRC has a uniquely valuable and proven model for research and collaboration between industry and academia that will help ensure continued innovation in an era requiring many new materials and technologies. This involvement in SRC is an outstanding complement to Applied’s university support programs around the world.”

The SRC's mission is to manage a strategic range of worldwide, consortia, academic-based research and education programs, each matching the needs of their sponsoring entities. The SRC's core research program provides:

• Innovative, strategic, pre-competitive research guided by the ITRS, focusing on universities
• University graduates with high rate of placement in member companies
• A global forum for pre-competitive collaboration among all segments of the semiconductor industry, universities and governments
• Advocacy to various government and other funding agencies for support of university semiconductor research
• A comprehensive Value Proposition that focuses on maximizing member value

About the SRC: As the pioneer of collaborative research for the semiconductor industry, SRC’s goal is to define common industry needs, invest in and manage the research that would expand the industry knowledge base and attract premier students to help innovate and transfer semiconductor technology to the commercial industry. Established in 1982, SRC is based in Research Triangle Park, NC, and drives long-term semiconductor research contracts on behalf of its participating members: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Applied Materials, Inc., Axcelis Technologies, Inc., Cadence Design Systems, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Intel Corp., LSI Logic Corp., Mentor Graphics Corp., The Mitre Corp., Novellus Systems, Inc., Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials and Texas Instruments Corp. Strategic partners are SEMATECH, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International and Semiconductor Industry Association. SRC also seeks to leverage funding from global government agencies. For more information, visit the SRC website.

About Applied Materials: Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in nanomanufacturing technology ™ solutions for the electronics industry with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products. At Applied Materials, nanomanufacturing technology is applied to improve the way people live. Learn more at http://www.appliedmaterials.com.