Applied Materials, Inc. announced that SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd., a group company of SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd., has joined the EPIC Center as its newest innovation partner. The collaboration will bring together SCREEN SPE?s expertise in wafer cleaning technology with Applied's leadership in materials engineering to develop co-optimized process solutions for the world?s most advanced chips. By combining Applied's deep process expertise across deposition, dry etch and materials modification with SCREEN SPE?s industry-leading cleaning, wet etch and surface preparation capabilities, the two companies can develop co-optimized, end-to-end process solutions that help chipmakers achieve higher yields and faster time-to-production on next-generation devices.

The deployment of the cleaning, wet etch and surface preparation technologies at Applied?s EPIC Center enables the evaluation of process-optimized solutions across the full process flow, supporting higher performance and greater reliability for the customers? most advanced devices. The new partnership builds on a collaborative relationship that includes joint process development work at Applied's Materials Engineering Technology Accelerator (META) Center in Albany, New York, where SCREEN SPE's single-wafer cleaning systems have been deployed to support pre- and post-process cleaning optimization across film formation, etch, and ion implantation workflows.

The new EPIC Center collaboration significantly expands the scope and scale of this relationship, enabling the companies? engineering teams to work in proximity on a broader range of next-generation process challenges with faster cycles of learning and more direct integration into Applied's R&D programs. Applied's new EPIC (Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization) Center in Silicon Valley represents the largest-ever U.S. investment in advanced semiconductor equipment R&D. Spanning more than 180,000 square feet on Applied's Silicon Valley campus, the center is designed from the ground up to dramatically reduce the time it takes to commercialize breakthrough technologies ? compressing the journey from early-stage research to full-scale manufacturing by as much as half.

The EPIC Center serves as a collaborative hub where leading chipmakers, equipment and materials suppliers, and research institutions work alongside Applied's teams to accelerate the development of next-generation semiconductor technologies. The facility is on track to become operational in 2026.