UMC and Avalanche Technology Partner for MRAM Development and 28nm Production
UMC will offer cost effective licensing of embedded 28nm non-volatile MRAM macros to its foundry
customers
United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, and Avalanche
Technology, Inc., the next generation STT-MRAM (Spin Transfer Torque Magnetic RAM) leader, today announced that they have entered a
partnership for joint development and production of MRAM to replace embedded flash. UMC will also make this technology available to
other companies through licensing with Avalanche Technology Inc.
Under the terms of the agreement, UMC will provide embedded non-volatile MRAM blocks based on UMC's 28nm CMOS manufacturing
process. This will enable customers to integrate low latency, very high performance and low power embedded MRAM memory blocks into
MCUs and SoCs, targeting the Internet of Things, wearable, consumer, industrial and automotive electronics markets.
The two companies are also considering to expand the cooperation beyond 28nm, as Avalanche Technology’s CMOS compatibility and
scalability to advanced process nodes enables integration of unified memory (non-volatile as well as SRAM) blocks into next
generation highly integrated MCUs and SoCs. This allows system designers to maintain the same architecture and software ecosystem
without a redesign.
"We're excited to team with a world leader in semiconductor manufacturing such as UMC to bring this outstanding technology to
market," said Petro Estakhri, CEO and co-founder of Avalanche Technology.
"UMC is continuously introducing enhanced process offerings to bring added competitive benefits to our customers," said G C
Hung, vice president of Advanced Technology Development at UMC. "With embedded NVM becoming more prevalent in today’s IC designs,
we have developed a strong portfolio of robust eNVM process solutions for high growth sectors such as emerging consumer and
automotive applications. We are happy to cooperate with Avalanche Technology for 28nm MRAM, and we look forward to ramping this
process to production for UMC customers."
About UMC
UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced IC production for applications
spanning every major sector of the electronics industry. UMC’s comprehensive foundry solutions enable chip designers to leverage
the company’s sophisticated technology and manufacturing, which include world-class 28nm High-K/Metal Gate technology, 14nm FinFET
volume production, specialty process platforms specifically developed for AI, 5G and IoT applications and the automotive industry’s
highest-rated AEC-Q100 Grade-0 manufacturing capabilities for the production of ICs found in vehicles. UMC’s 11 wafer fabs are
strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce nearly 600,000 wafers per month. The company employs over 20,000
people worldwide, with offices in Taiwan, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. UMC can be found on the
web at http://www.umc.com.
About Avalanche Technology
Avalanche Technology Inc. is the leader in next generation Perpendicular STT-MRAM technology, accepted as the front-runner to
replace traditional Flash and SRAM for unified memory architectures in future SOC systems, delivering high performance, low power
at 28nm with scalability to 22 and 14nm.
With a proven STT-MRAM portfolio at 55, 40nm and now enabling 28nm combined with an intellectual property portfolio of more than
275 patents and applications, Avalanche Technology Inc. is the leader in next generation perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction
(MTJ) STT-MRAM cells. Avalanche Technology is delivering on the promise of enabling the next generation scalable embedded unified
memory architecture for use in GPUs, MCUs, DSPs, ASSPs and ASICs, making Avalanche Technology the “Next Generation MRAM
Company”. For more information, visit Avalanche Technology online at http://www.avalanche-technology.com.
Note from UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws,
including statements about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, business relationships and market conditions.
Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of
factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and
technological and development risks. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statements and reports on Forms F-1, F-3, F-6 and 20-F and 6-K, in
each case as amended. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.
UMC
Richard Yu
(886) 2-2658-9168 ext. 16951
richard_yu@umc.com
or
Avalanche Technology
Suzanne Marzouk
510-438 0148
PR@avalanche-technology.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180806005233/en/