UMC Announces Availability of 40nm SST Embedded Flash Process

Toshiba MCU ICs are expected to utilize the highly robust, non-volatile memory process

Hsinchu, Taiwan, December 21, 2017 – United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC;TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced the availability of the company’s 40nm process platform that incorporates Silicon Storage Technology’s (SST) embedded SuperFlash® non-volatile memory. The newly available 40nm SST process features a >20% reduction in eFlash cell size and 20-30% macro area over UMC’s mass production 55nm SST technology. Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has started studying technical feasibility of UMC’s 40nm SST for their microcontroller (MCU) ICs.

“We expect that UMC’s 40nm SST will improve the performance of our MCU products,” said Toshiya Matsui, Vice President, Mixed Signal IC Division of Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation “Working with UMC will also allow us to maintain a robust business continuity plan (BCP) through stable manufacturing supply and flexible capacity support based on our production requirements.”

More than 20 customers and products are in various stages of 55nm SST eFlash production at UMC, including those for SIM card, banking, automotive, IOT, MCU and other applications.

Wenchi Ting, Associate VP of Specialty Technology division at UMC said, “Since qualifying SST’s embedded flash technology on our popular 55nm process in 2015, we have received tremendous interest from customers looking to further utilize the low power, high reliability, superior data retention and high endurance characteristics of this process platform for their automotive, industrial, consumer and IoT applications. We are pleased to introduce this eNVM solution on our 40nm platform, and look forward to bringing the high speed and high reliability benefits of SST to Toshiba and our other foundry customers.”

UMC’s robust SST process performs according to JEDEC standards, with 100k endurance and more than 10 years of data retention at 85C and an operating-temperature range of -40C to 125C. In addition to the 40nm SST process, UMC has over 20 customers in production using the foundry’s 55nm SST for a broad range of product applications.

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 robust foundry solutions enable chip designers to leverage the company’s sophisticated technology and manufacturing, which include high volume production 28nm gate-last High-K/Metal Gate technology, ultra-low power platform processes specifically engineered for Internet of Things (IoT) applications and the automotive industry’s highest-rated AEC-Q100 Grade-0 manufacturing capabilities for production of ICs found in cars. UMC’s 11 wafer fabs are strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce over 500,000 wafers per month. The company employs nearly 19,000 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.