India, May 28 -- Applied Materials has announced that SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions Co has joined its EPIC Center in Silicon Valley as its newest innovation partner.

The collaboration will combine SCREEN SPE's wafer cleaning, wet etch, and surface preparation expertise with Applied Materials' materials engineering capabilities. The companies aim to develop co-optimised process solutions for advanced chips, where surface cleanliness is becoming increasingly critical to yield, performance, and reliability.

As semiconductor devices become more complex, defects introduced during deposition, etch, and materials modification steps need to be addressed with greater precision. This makes wafer cleaning and surface preparation a key part of nex...