UMC Unveils 80nm SDDI Foundry Process Featuring the Industry's Most Competitive SRAM Bitcell

Technology will enable next-generation smartphone displays that feature HD

Hsinchu, Taiwan --  November 21, 2012 – United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today introduced an 80nm SDDI (Small-panel Display Driver IC) foundry process with the most competitive SDDI SRAM bitcell in the foundry industry. The low power, advanced SRAM solution applies aggressive foundry design rules to shrink the bitcell size down to 0.714 um2 to enable HD720/WXGA smartphone resolutions, far less than the typical 0.81um2 size used in current 80nm SDDI processes. The process is ready for mass production, with several Tier-1 customers engaged for HD720/WXGA smartphone resolution applications.

Yau Kae Sheu, senior director of UMC’s 12-inch Specialty Technology Development division, said, "With the proliferation of today’s smartphones, UMC has stayed at the forefront of specialty technology development to help the industry consistently introduce newer, feature-enhanced products. Our available 80nm and upcoming 55nm SDDI process will help new and existing display driver customers realize higher resolution with lower power consumption for upcoming generations of smartphone displays.”

The 80nm process leverages UMC’s position as the worldwide foundry leader in SDDI, having shipped over 300 million SDDI chips at 0.13um for today’s mainstream smartphone using WVGA and qHD resolutions. In addition to the 0.13um and 80nm SDDI processes, the foundry is also targeting next generation smartphone displays featuring full-HD with the industry’s first 55nm SDDI process, which will be ready for customer design-in this quarter.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC’s customer-driven foundry solutions allow chip designers to leverage the company’s leading-edge processes, which include 28nm poly-SiON and gate-last High-K/Metal Gate technology, mixed signal/RFCMOS, and a wide range of specialty technologies. Production is supported through 10 wafer manufacturing facilities that include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab 12A in  Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i. Fab 12A consists of Phases 1-4 which are in production for customer products down to 28nm. Construction is underway for Phases 5&6, with future plans for Phases 7&8. The company employs over 13,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.