ATDF and UMC to Collaborate in Evaluating and Commercializing New Technologies

-ATDF, the global R&D foundry for the nanoelectronics industry, and UMC (NYSE: UMC; TSE: 2303), a leading global semiconductor foundry and SoC solution provider, have agreed to extend their existing collaboration to evaluate emerging technology products and bring those that are most promising to market.

Under the agreement, ATDF and UMC will focus on specialty technologies - including nanotech and memory designs - that originate with small companies, university labs, and other organizations. ATDF will evaluate the technologies that match UMC's manufacturability criteria, while UMC will work with select innovators to evaluate the manufacturability and commercialization of their technologies.

"Our partnership with UMC gives technology innovators an important new resource for implementing their best ideas," said Dave Anderson, ATDF General Manager. "Novel technologies now have a clearer path to a foundry, which is especially important for smaller participants in the industry."

Joe Ko, vice president of the Specialty Technology Division at UMC, said, "This partnership underscores UMC's commitment to stay at the forefront of semiconductor R&D technologies. It also enhances UMC's ability to target fabless and startup companies that require a manufacturing partner to commercialize new ideas and intellectual property."

Under this program, ATDF will assess feasibility and perform qualification testing for any innovator willing to engage in the program. UMC then will review ATDF's test results to select the potential manufacturing partners.

"This collaboration draws on ATDF's experience in incubating new technologies for the marketplace," said Dr. Shu Ikeda, ATDF Technology Director. "We are pleased to apply that experience to our continuing partnership with UMC, which affords us the opportunity to bring new processes and novel technologies from concept to manufacturing."

ATDF and UMC began their relationship in 2006 with three projects aimed at developing advanced CMOS devices for logic chips. Now nearing successful completion, these projects include the development of multi-gate field-effect transistors (MuGFETs), dual work function metal gates, and mobility enhancement structures.

About UMC
UMC is a leading global semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers cutting-edge foundry technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SoC) designs, including volume production 90nm, industry-leading 65nm, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC's 10 wafer manufacturing facilities include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. The company employs approximately 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.

About ATDF
ATDF, a wholly owned subsidiary of SEMATECH, is a leading technology R&D center where research meets manufacturing for semiconductor manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, and others. ATDF customers can confidentially test new designs, integration methodologies, and prototype systems while protecting their own intellectual property, and development partners can work closely with one another in a custom manufacturing environment. ATDF also develops baseline processes, accepted industry-wide, that bring new tools and materials to manufacturing faster, at lower cost. More information can be found at www.atdf.com.