eMemory and UMC Qualify NeoFuse IP on the Foundry's 28nm High Voltage Process

NeoFuse and UMC’s 28nm HV platform combination targets fast-growing OLED Market

Hsinchu, Taiwan -- January 20, 2020 – eMemory, the leading provider of non-volatile memory intellectual property, and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that eMemory’s NeoFuse IP has been qualified on UMC’s 28nm High Voltage (HV) platform to target the fast-growing OLED market.

Key customers have completed successful product tape outs using this IP and process, which are ready for mass production.

“In addition to previous implementations on UMC’s HV process platforms, we’re pleased to work with UMC again to extend NeoFuse IP to the 28nm HV process to meet various demands for OLED application to create value for customers,” said Michael Ho, Vice President of Business Development at eMemory.

eMemory logic NVM solutions have been implemented in a wide range of UMC’s HV process nodes for OLED applications. As the leading logic NVM IP provider in the HV process, eMemory has maintained a close relationship with UMC to verify eMemory NVM solutions at early stages of process development.

"eMemory’s NeoFuse IP is a welcome resource for our foundry customers wishing to customize their ICs on our 28nm HV process to serve OLED markets," said T.H. Lin director of IP Development and Design Support division at UMC. "Our two companies have shared positive results through our IP collaboration for UMC’s 55nm, 40nm, and 28nm HV technology platforms, which are optimized to satisfy the performance requirements of display driver applications including OLED."

As OLED displays have taken a dominant position in high-end smartphones, small display driver ICs (SDDIs) have become performance driven. Compared with 55nm or 40nm HV, the 28nm HV process can provide faster data rates for OLED DDIs, higher SRAM density and better power consumption, all of which result in superior image quality with ideal power efficiency. The more advanced node also allows the use of increasingly complex algorithms for powerful display engines.

UMC is the worldwide foundry leader in SDDI, with the most SDDI wafer shipments among all foundries in 2019. The company’s 28nm HV process features the industry’s smallest SRAM bit cells to reduce chip height and area, while its leading 28nm Gate-Last HKMG scheme features superior leakage and dynamic power performance to enhance battery life for mobile devices.

eMemory is the world’s top-tier eNVM IP provider, and eMemory’s NeoFuse is a NVM technology offering the advantages of low-power operation in a wide range of applications with good reliability and high security from 0.15um down to leading technology nodes.

About eMemory

eMemory Technology Inc. is the world’s largest pure-play developer and provider of logic-based non-volatile memory (Logic NVM) technology. The company has licensed its intellectual property to semiconductor foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), and fabless design houses around the world.

eMemory’s proprietary IP technologies include NeoBit, NeoFuse, NeoMTP, NeoEE and NeoPUF. Products developed with these core technologies have been made into more than 41 billion ICs used in various consumer, industrial and automotive applications.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry. The company provides mature and advanced IC production with a focus on Specialty Technologies to serve 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 high volume 28nm High-K/Metal Gate technology, volume production 14nm FinFET, specialty process platforms specifically developed for AIoT and 5G applications and the automotive industry’s highest-rated AEC-Q100 Grade-0 manufacturing capabilities for the production of ICs found in vehicles. UMC’s 12 wafer fabs are strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce more than 700,000 wafers per month. The company employs approximately 19,500 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.