SAN JOSE, Calif. — Applied Ventures LLC, the venture capital fund of Applied Materials Inc., has invested $3.0 million in Solaicx, a supplier of single-crystal, silicon wafers for the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry.

Solaicx (Santa Clara, Calif.) plans to use the investment to expand its business with a second U.S. manufacturing site, scheduled for 2007 operation. Solaicx's technology is based on proprietary, continuous Czochralski (CZ) crystal growing methodology that enables the high-volume manufacturing of cost-effective, high-quality ingots for conversion into solar wafers.

The Solaicx crystal growing equipment is expected to be up to five times more productive than traditional CZ systems that were designed primarily for the semiconductor industry.

In a major move into the solar-cell and other equipment markets, Applied Materials in May announced a definitive agreement to acquire Applied Films Corp. for $464 million in cash.

With the surprising acquisition of Applied Films (Longmont, Colo.), chip-equipment giant Applied Materials (Santa Calif.) expands its product portfolio. Applied Films is a supplier of thin-film deposition equipment used in the manufacturing of flat-panel displays, solar cells, flexible electronics and energy-efficient glass.