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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tony Viola who wrote (35342)	5/23/2000 7:58:00 PM
From: Steve K	Respond to of 70976

Tony, The question now seems to be whether or not the Fed leads us into a recession or not. If yes, then as Jacob said in a previous post, we're heading to the basement as the semi-equip cycle dies shortly thereafter. If no, then we'll come out fine. Does make for an interesting decision given the high risk/high reward situation. Steve Long on AMAT, ASYT, INTC; Short on sleep :-)

To: Tony Viola who wrote (35342)	5/24/2000 8:59:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

SOITEC Places Repeat Order for Applied Materials' Ion Implant Systems for SOI Manufacturing Line Applied Materials' xR200S Ion Implanters Used to Create Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) Wafers for High-Performance Devices SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2000-- Applied Materials, Inc. has delivered a third xR200S ion implant system to SOITEC's manufacturing facility in Bernin, France, to enable increased production levels of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. SOI technology is used to create an insulating film layer under a thin base layer of silicon for building the semiconductor device. This technology is considered strategic for the semiconductor industry because it can increase performance in many chip designs by up to 25 percent compared to devices made with traditional bulk silicon. Andre Auberton-Herve, president of SOITEC, said, ``Our long-term collaboration with Applied Materials has played a major role in helping SOITEC ramp up production to address the strong demand for SOI wafers. Using Applied Materials' ion implanters, we have been able to lower the production costs of our unique Smart Cut© process and thereby help accelerate the adoption of SOI technology by the semiconductor industry.'' SOITEC's Smart Cut process includes the formation of a hydrogen layer using high current ion implantation. Applied Materials has collaborated with SOITEC since 1994 to improve the productivity, process capability and technical efficiency of its ion implant systems for this novel process application. ``By increasing the performance of our xR200S system, we have significantly improved the economics of this critical step used in SOITEC's wafer fabrication process,'' said Craig Lowrie, vice president of Applied Materials' Ion Implant Division. ``Our collaborative work has resulted in a 10x improvement in ion source lifetime, which translates to a 5x reduction in system cost of consumables. We've also teamed with SOITEC since 1997 on 300mm wafers when the company began sampling its UNIBOND© technology using Applied Materials' 300mm ion implant system.'' Applied Materials is the leading supplier of SOI-related process equipment, with systems for ion implantation, epitaxial deposition and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), depending on the specific SOI fabrication method. The company's xR and Quantum series of ion implanters combine state-of-the-art ion beamline technology with high throughput using a wide range of implant elements, including SOI-favorable light ions. The systems' compact footprint also enables maximum utilization of valuable fab floorspace. Applied Materials' implant systems are the market leaders in high-current implantation. SOITEC is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of SOI wafers. SOITEC provides a broad range of advanced thin-film substrates for IC manufacturing, including bonded SOI (UNIBOND) and silicon-on-quartz/glass wafers. SOITEC uses its exclusive Smart Cut process, based on hydrogen ion implantation, to transfer a thin layer of material on the top of a support wafer. The Smart Cut process was highlighted through the European SEMI Award in April 1999. SOITEC is traded on the French ``Nouveau Marche'' at the Paris Stock Exchange under the SICOVAM number 7206. SOITEC's web site is www.soitec.com. Applied Materials, Inc. is a Fortune 500 global growth company and the world's largest supplier of wafer fabrication systems and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol ``AMAT.'' Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com.

To: Tony Viola who wrote (35342)	5/24/2000 9:31:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

[World DRAM Price] Rise of DIMM Spot Prices for Large Users Eases May 24, 2000 (TOKYO) -- The trend of rising prices of 128MB DIMM memory modules for large-volume users showed signs of slowing in three major markets, where prices are about to turn around soon. A worldwide DRAM price survey conducted by ICIS-LOR, based in London, Houston and Singapore, showed that the 30-day rolling average prices of 128MB DIMMs (PC133) for the spot market from April 6 to May 5 rose by 3.71 percent from the previous week (through April 28) to US$110.05 in North America, increased 0.84 percent to US$105.43 in Europe and were up by 0.99 percent to US$98.77 in Asia. The 30-day rolling average prices of 128MB DRAMs (PC133, 16M x 8) for large-volume users between April 6 and May 5 were US$14.53 in North America, US$12.19 in Europe and US$12.00 in Asia. As compared with the results of the previous week, the prices rose by 0.83 percent in North America, increased by 2.65 percent in Europe and declined by 4.27 percent in Asia. The spot prices for 128MB DIMMs (PC133) recovered to the current US$100-$110 from US$90 in March 2000. They are expected to stay around the present level, taking into consideration current DRAM microchip prices and PC prices