The key to commercializing innovation is scale, scale, scale. At Applied Materials, we have been taking "scale" to whole new levels. At the "nanoscale" level, it's about applying thin film technology to create semiconductor devices as small as 1/2000th the width of a human hair, with near-atomic levels of control and precision. At the other end of the spectrum is "gigascale," which for solar means enabling ultra-high volume manufacturing with ultra-high efficiency, critical to driving down cost. And "global scale" means having the experience, financial resources, intellectual capital, and international reach to manufacture and deploy technology around the world.
Applied's technology helps produce virtually every semiconductor chip and liquid crystal flat panel in the world. In the semiconductor industry, Applied's equipment and process technologies helped reduce the cost per transistor by 20 million times over the last 40 years. That breakthrough cost reduction has revolutionized the consumer electronics business and enabled our customers to build smaller, more powerful, more portable and cheaper devices. In flat panel display, Applied drove down the cost per unit area of displays by 20 times by enabling large area substrate processing. This unleashed huge consumer demand for large size flat panel LCD televisions and other devices. Harnessing this expertise and experience, Applied is now focused on delivering manufacturing solutions to help our customers dramatically reduce the cost of solar panels. With its technological capabilities, operational resources and financial depth, Applied is the best choice for solar manufacturers, utilities and communities looking to advance solar PV to utility scale.
In addition to its SunFab™ thin film production line, Applied offers a portfolio of services to fully optimize customers' overall factory operations and yield for maximum return on their investment. A Fortune 500 company and number one in Silicon Process Equipment, LCD Display Equipment and solar PV Process Equipment markets. Applied employs over 12,000 people worldwide, with more than 1,000 people dedicated to solar. With 3,000 field engineers and more than 60 service and sales offices worldwide, Applied stands ready to support customers any time, anywhere. Only Applied can offer this level of support at a global scale.
