Applied Materials and Dainippon Screen Complete Formation of Sokudo Company Joint Venture

Sokudo, headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, is 52% owned by Screen and48% owned by Applied Materials. Screen's existing track business andrelated intellectual property, including employees, products and itsinstalled base of systems, are being transferred to Sokudo. AppliedMaterials contributed 16.6 billion Yen (approximately US$151 million)to Sokudo and is transferring technology, related intellectualproperty and key development employees to the new company.

"This joint venture demonstrates a strong commitment from bothcompanies to provide our customers with innovative track solutions tomeet the challenges of nanometer-scale manufacturing," said MikeSplinter, CEO and president of Applied Materials. "Combining Appliedand Screen's talents and resources will allow us to create advanced,highly competitive products with new levels of performance in ashorter timeframe. These track products will also enhance Applied'sexpanding portfolio of lithography-enabling solutions."

Sokudo's chief executive officer is Takashige Suetake, executivevice chairman of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. and president ofScreen's Semiconductor Equipment Company. "Sokudo combinescoat/develop track development and production expertise cultivatedover many years by Screen with Applied Materials' advanced producttechnology and expertise," commented Mr. Suetake. "Sokudo has a clearroadmap of its direction, and this select Japan/U.S. team is intenselyfocused on the development of advanced products that will move ourcustomers forward into the next generation."

Sokudo's Board of Directors includes Takashige Suetake; MikeSplinter; Menachem Erad, group vice president and chief of staff ofApplied Materials; Farhad Moghadam, senior vice president and generalmanager of Applied's Thin Films Group; Masahiro Hashimoto,representative director and COO of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.;and Tadahiro Suhara, corporate officer of Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co.,Ltd. and vice president of Semiconductor Equipment Company.

According to market researcher Gartner Dataquest, the market fortrack systems was estimated to be $1.4 billion in 2005 and is forecastto grow to nearly $2.0 billion in 2008.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating toApplied Materials' ("Applied") joint venture with Dainippon Screen("Screen") and expected benefits of the transaction, including newproduct development/commercialization in a shorter timeframe,portfolio enhancement and growth opportunities; Applied's and Screen'stechnology leadership and capabilities; and the market for tracksystems. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks anduncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materiallyfrom those stated or implied, including but not limited to: successfulintegration of Applied's and Screen's respective contributions to thejoint venture; the joint venture's ability to develop, manufacture andcommercialize products; sustainability of demand in the semiconductorand semiconductor equipment industries, which is subject to manyfactors, including global economic conditions, business spending,consumer confidence, demand for electronic products and integratedcircuits, and geopolitical uncertainties; Applied's ability todevelop, deliver and support a broad range of products and to expandits markets and develop new markets; retention of key employees; andother risks described in Applied's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed withthe Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statementsare based on managements' estimates, projections and assumptions as ofthe date hereof and Applied assumes no obligation to update any suchstatement.

Sokudo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, was establishedon July 3, 2006 for the development, manufacturing, sales and serviceof advanced coat/develop track equipment for semiconductor production.Its website is www.sokudo.com.

Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. was established in 1943 and is atop 10 supplier of semiconductor fabrication equipment, specializingin wafer cleaning systems, coater/developer track equipment, andnext-generation flash anneal tools. Dainippon Screen is a publiccompany quoted on the Tokyo stock exchange (TSE:7735). Its website iswww.screen.co.jp.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader innanomanufacturing technology(TM) solutions for the electronicsindustry with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service andsoftware products. At Applied Materials, we apply nanomanufacturingtechnology to improve the way people live. Learn more atwww.appliedmaterials.com.