"This new capability expands Applied Materials' opportunity to use our considerable process technology expertise to provide customers with new ways to drive down costs," stated Mark Stark, vice president and general manager of Applied's Fab Operation Services division. "Typically, wafers are the single largest consumable cost contributor for a fab. With an industry-wide shortage of silicon, the use of wafer reclaim services is expected to grow to help offset the limited availability of silicon and decrease non-product wafer costs. Our unique reclaim methods have demonstrated significant cost-of-ownership benefits for our customers, including higher wafer quality and increased process yields."

The new reclaim facility uses proprietary processes that Applied claims can extend the lifecycle of test wafers by over 45 percent or 11 uses per wafer. The Center also has the capability for the non-destructive recovery of wafers containing carbon-based low-k films with little or no silicon loss.