Applied Materials

TechnologyTechnologyTechnology Hardware & Equipment
    
      PhotovoltaicsSolar

    


  * New Applied Baccini(®) Pegaso(TM) modular platform enables the production of
    tomorrow's higher-efficiency solar cell designs at reduced cost through
    smart manufacturing
  * System delivers high yield and output at the industry's lowest overall cost
    per watt
  * Video briefing available at www.appliedmaterials.com/pegaso

SANTA CLARA, Calif., August 31, 2011 - Applied Materials, Inc. today announced
its new Applied Baccini(®)Pegaso(TM) solar photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturing
platform that enables customers to bring their novel, high-efficiency cell
designs into mass production. The Pegaso platform fabricates electrical circuits
on both sides of a solar cell - a process that includes multiple screen-printed
metallization steps, metrology and sorting. Advancing the state-of-the-art in
cell manufacturing, the breakthrough Pegaso system delivers high yield and cell
output - over 20 million solar cells per year - at the lowest overall cost-per-
watt of any cell manufacturing system available.

"We are very impressed with Applied's Baccini Pegaso technology. The system is
producing the highest efficiency cells with the lowest breaking ratio of any
cell line in our facility, at high throughput and with consistently high yield,"
said Dr. Wen-Whe Pan, president of Gintech Energy Corporation. "Our customers
are also very pleased with the production samples we've produced using the
Applied Pegaso system and we're looking forward to continuing our partnership
with Applied into the future." Gintech Energy Corporation, located in Hsinchu
Science Park, Taiwan, is one of the largest solar cell manufacturers in the
world.

Key to the Pegaso platform's groundbreaking performance are its proprietary
"smart" technologies that bring a new level of precision and control to the cell
manufacturing process. The system's adaptive wafer-handling mechanism, based on
planar motor technology, shuttles wafers between two independent tracks to
optimize wafer output and enable continued operation during maintenance. The
revolutionary Pegaso-XP(TM) dual print head incorporates a sophisticated closed-
loop metrology system that adjusts printing parameters "on-the-fly" from wafer
to wafer to achieve near micron-level accuracy and repeatability for fully
optimized cell performance.

"The next wave of cost-per-watt reduction in the solar PV industry will be
achieved through major changes in cell technology and manufacturing
sophistication to simultaneously improve efficiency and factory output," said
Dr. Mark Pinto, executive vice president and general manager of Applied's Energy
and Environmental Solutions Group. "We're honored that a technology leader such
as Gintech Energy has chosen Applied's Baccini Pegaso technology to accelerate
its cell efficiency roadmap."

Importantly, the Pegaso platform features "future-proof" modular architecture
that enables customers to rapidly add modules for additional processing
capability. This can reduce the time, cost and risk of implementing emerging
cell technologies, such as advanced back contact and selective emitter schemes.
The Pegaso system is also backed by Applied Global Services, the largest and
most comprehensive support capability to the crystalline silicon solar industry.

Applied Materials is the market leader in PV cell screen printing systems. An
estimated three-quarters of the crystalline silicon solar cells in use today
were manufactured using an Applied Baccini system. Applied Materials will
showcase its Baccini Pegaso technology at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) in Hamburg, Germany from September 5-8. For
more information, visit www.appliedmaterials.com/pvsec.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in providing
innovative equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of
advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products. Our
technologies help make innovations like smartphones, flat screen TVs and solar
panels more affordable and accessible to consumers and businesses around the
world. At Applied Materials, we turn today's innovations into the industries of
tomorrow. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.

# # #

Contact:
Connie Duncan (editorial/media) 408.563.6209
Michael Sullivan (financial community) 408.986.7977

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