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Applied Materials unveiled the Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization Center, a 600,000-square-foot semiconductor R&D facility in Sunnyvale, California.
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Epic Center includes nearly four acres of advanced cleanroom space and represents a capital investment expected to scale to approximately $5 billion as customer projects begin.
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TSMC, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Micron, SK hynix, equipment companies and universities will collaborate with Applied Materials at the facility.
Applied Materials unveiled a 600,000-square-foot semiconductor research and development facility in Sunnyvale, California, as chipmakers expand investment in the technologies needed to support artificial intelligence infrastructure.
What Did Applied Materials Unveil in Sunnyvale, CA
The Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization, or EPIC, Center represents a capital investment expected to scale over time to approximately $5 billion as customer projects commence, the company said in an Oct. 12 press release.
EPIC Center includes nearly four acres of advanced cleanroom space and required more than 6 million construction hours to complete.
Applied Materials said the foundation contains enough concrete to fill 34 Olympic-sized swimming pools, while the steel-reinforced structure contains enough steel to build two Eiffel Towers.
A rendering of EPIC Center, a 600,000-square-foot semiconductor research and development facility in Sunnyvale, California. Image: Applied Materials
Facility Targets Faster Semiconductor Commercialization
The EPIC Center is designed to bring materials research, equipment development, process integration and pilot production into one facility.
That approach is intended to reduce the handoffs between development stages and shorten the time required to move new technologies from laboratory research into high-volume manufacturing.
“Inside the EPIC Center, leading chipmakers, systems companies, equipment partners and university researchers will work side by side with Applied’s scientists and engineers to accelerate the pace of chip innovation for the AI era,” Applied Materials President and CEO Gary Dickerson said in the release.
The facility’s construction includes 34 roof trusses spanning the cleanrooms. Each truss stretches nearly 300 feet and weighs as much as 12 school buses, according to the company.
Engineers are seen in an image at EPIC, The Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization Center in Sunnyvale, CA. Image: Applied Materials
Who is Partnering with Applied Materials at the EPIC Center
The EPIC Center opened with a roster of partners spanning semiconductor manufacturing, design, equipment, testing, memory and academia.
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Founding partners include TSMC, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Micron and SK hynix.
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Broadcom, Advantest, SCREEN, KIOXIA and Besi are participating as innovation partners.
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Arizona State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA Samueli School of Engineering are research partners.
Applied Materials said partners will bring engineers and technology roadmaps into the facility to work with its teams. The company expects additional companies and organizations to join the EPIC ecosystem over time.
For chipmakers, the arrangement is intended to provide earlier access to materials and equipment, shorter learning cycles and a faster path to volume production.
Applied Materials said the facility will provide visibility into emerging technology requirements and help guide future research and development investments.
The project comes as AI-related demand increases the complexity of semiconductor manufacturing, including advanced logic, high-bandwidth memory, interconnects and packaging.
Applied Materials said the EPIC Center is intended to support those technology areas by developing materials, processes and equipment in parallel rather than sequentially.
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