Additional Author

Mar202013

Once upon a time, microchips were (relatively) simple and so was servicing the machines used to make them: if a machine stopped working, you called a technician. We call this break/fix model Service 1.0.

As chips became more sophisticated, instead of just repairing the equipment, Service 2.0 aimed to make it faster and more efficient.

Today, chips are almost unimaginably complex and we’re on the brink of Service 3.0, where virtually everything in the fab is monitored to identify subtle shifts that could affect chip performance.

Recently, Dan Hutcheson, CEO of VLSIresearch, explored the evolving nature of service with Charlie Pappis, group vice president and general manager of Applied Global Services.

Automation Software, Services

Applied Materials Named to InformationWeek 500 List of Business Innovators

By Erik Wolf

Sep252012

It gives me great pleasure to share that Applied Materials has once again been named to the InformationWeek 500 list of business technology innovators for delivering a customized, highly searchable knowledge management portal for Applied field service engineers.

The prestigious list is published annually by InformationWeek and this year’s list spotlights how mobile devices, cloud computing and big data analytics are changing the landscape for IT organizations. Not only is the IT organization now responsible for just tech support–it is also a strategic partner embedded into business products and services.

The Applied Rapid Knowledge (ARK) portal was recognized for increasing work efficiency and stream-lining product-related document searches, enabling field service engineers to better support customer equipment.

Semiconductors, Services

The Rolling Stones of Chipmaking: Still Cranking Out the Goodies

By Dr. Cheryl Knepfler

Sep142012

In 1993, when the internet was mostly a science experiment, Applied shipped a new P5000 CVD system to the Motorola SPS (now Freescale) Oak Hill fab in Austin, Texas -- where it was used to produce processors for Apple computers. A year later, Motorola installed its second P5000 system. Fast forward 20 years and you’ll find both tools on the production line and still running!

Together, the two P5000s have processed an astounding 4.4 million wafers -- or over a billion chips. Continually modified and upgraded over the years with new hardware and software improvements through the Applied Global Services (AGS) organization, these two tools have gallantly served a number of technology nodes and applications at Freescale.

Solar

Applied Materials Named Top PV Solar Equipment Supplier

By Kevin Chen

Jun112012

Applied Materials, Inc. was recognized as the largest supplier of photovoltaic (PV) solar manufacturing equipment in 2011 by VLSIresearch, a market research firm located in Santa Clara, Calif. This is the fourth consecutive year that Applied has been ranked number one in revenue in the PV solar market, and fiscal 2011 represented its third year of achieving more than $1 billion in sales in this market.*

As the market leader in PV manufacturing equipment, Applied currently supports over 1,800 solar manufacturing systems including screen printing, precision wafering, ion implantation and thin film deposition equipment at more than 200 customer sites worldwide through its Applied Global Services division. Applied also provides factory automation software and service solutions for optimizing solar cell efficiency and factory operations.

Corporate

Applied Materials Ranks on FORTUNE’s Most Admired Companies List

By Patricia Zepeda Vera

Mar42011

Applied Materials moved up a spot and ranked third behind Intel and Texas Instruments in the ‘semiconductor’ industry on the Most Admired companies list and received an overall score of 6.78. Applied Materials has been on FORTUNE's Most Admired companies list since 1998. The full list is available on FORTUNE’s web site.

Per FORTUNE's web site, companies are rated by executives, directors, and analysts in their own industry on nine criteria, from innovation and global competitiveness to social responsibility.

Semiconductors

Applied Materials' E3 Equipment Control System Optimizes Process Control for Micron Technology

By Alex Schwarm

Aug302010

Micron Technology, Inc. announced today that it has started the deployment of the Applied Materials E3 framework within its 300mm fabrication facilities. Applied E3 is an integrated engineering system that allows sophisticated control strategies aimed at increasing product performance, raising product yield and improving quality.

Services, Solar

Harnessing Collective Wisdom

By Dana Tribula

Sep282009

We’ve talked about the economic and environmental benefits of local solar ecosystems before on this blog, but even the best team can benefit from the experience of others, wherever they’re located. When it comes to making anything work better, collective wisdom is a powerful tool.

APPLIED MATERIALS BLOG

The Evolution of the Semiconductor Service Model