Faraday's PowerSlash IP Now Available on UMC's 55nm Ultra-Low-Power IoT Platform

HSINCHU, Taiwan, October 12, 2016 - Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035), a leading ASIC design service and IP provider, and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC”), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced the availability of Faraday’s PowerSlash™ fundamental IP cells on UMC’s 55nm ultra-low-power process (55ULP) technology. The combination of PowerSlash™ with UMC’s process technology, both engineered for very low-power wireless applications, is optimized to serve wireless Internet of Things (IoT) applications that require extended battery life.

"In the realm of IoT applications, low-power consumption and high-performance are often considered as trade-offs," said Remi Yu, Vice President of Marketing and Investment at Faraday Technology. "With the combination of UMC's 55ULP ultra low-power technology and Faraday PowerSlash IP Turbo Mode capability, chip designers now have a choice to have the advantages of both worlds -- longer battery life and better performance tailored for IoT use scenarios. It marks another success story of the partnership by UMC and Faraday."

Fully leveraging UMC's 55ULP advantage, Faraday's PowerSlash IP works under extended power supply voltages that range from 0.81V to 1.32V. It includes multi-Vt libraries, fine-power granularity memory compilers and a comprehensive power management kit. In addition, the newly featured Turbo Mode effectively shifts the performance curve, helping MCU cores to achieve 2x performance or reduce dynamic power by 40% at nominal clock rates.

"IoT chip designers demand streamlined solutions with energy-efficient features," said Yanan Mou, senior director of the IP Development & Design Support division at UMC. "UMC possesses the foundry industry's most robust IoT-specific 55nm technology platform, supported by highly comprehensive IP resources to address the 'always on' ultra-low power requirements of IoT products. With the availability of Faraday's PowerSlash IP on our 55ULP, customers have access to one of the industry's most comprehensive platforms dedicated to the unique needs of IoT products."

The PowerSlash IP, combined with Faraday's existing low-power design methodology, SoC ultra-low power control unit, and FIE3200 FPGA platform, can be utilized for low-power IC designs either during the front-end design phase or in back-end implementation. UMC's 55ULP technology can support both lower operating voltage and sub-pA device leakage, making the process ideal for button-cell battery applications. The synergy created by both Faraday and UMC's ultra-low power technologies sets new benchmarks for ultra-low power IC design platforms.

About Faraday Technology Corporation

Faraday Technology Corporation (TWSE: 3035) is a leading ASIC design service and IP provider. The broad silicon IP portfolio includes I/O, Cell Library, Memory Compiler, ARM-compliant CPUs, DDR2/3/4, low-power DDR1/2/3, MIPI, V-by-One, MPEG4, H.264, USB 2.0/3.1 Gen 1, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, Serial ATA, PCI Express, and programmable SerDes, etc. Headquartered in Taiwan, Faraday has service and support offices around the world, including the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Mainland China.

For more information about Faraday, please visit: www.faraday-tech.com

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 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 10 wafer fabs are strategically located throughout Asia and are able to produce over 500,000 wafers per month. The company employs more than 17,000 people worldwide, with offices in Taiwan, mainland China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com