Oki's 0.15um ARM Core First ARM-based IP to Achieve 0.15um Silicon Verified Silver Status at UMC

- Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6703) today announced that its 0.15um ARM7(tm) core family hard IP is industry's first ARM-based IP core to achieve Silver IP status on 0.15um technology at world leading semiconductor foundry UMC. The Silver IP rating is part of UMC's Gold IP(tm) program to certify that a chip has been successfully tested on UMC silicon and is ready for production. The silicon verification of Oki's 0.15um ARM7 core joins the availability of Oki's 0.15um AMR9(tm) core family hard IP at UMC, which is currently rated as GDS (General Data Stream) j-ready Bronze status, to enable customers designing their products using these cores to shorten their development cycle time.

UMC already offers 0.18um and 0.13um Silver rated ARM cores through its Gold IP program. Oki's silicon-verified ARM-based IP at the 0.15um generation is designed for small chip size, competitive cost and ultra low power consumption, and suite embedded applications such as PHS baseband controllers and low-end printers. Oki is currently developing products using this core with uPLAT(r)-7B, which is based on Oki's uPLAT(r) system LSI development platform, and expects its first sample shipment in December 2004 and volume delivery in March 2005.

"Many of our customers require a performance enhancement over 0.18um, but may not necessarily need to design their products into 0.13um yet. By acquiring Silver IP status for Oki's 0.15um ARM7 core family-based hard IP, we can now provide the best solutions to such users," said Akira Kamo, President of the Silicon Solutions Company at Oki Electric. "The ARM processor is currently the world standard in 32-bit embedded CPUs and the base core for Oki's system LSI processors. We plan to respond to customer needs by expanding ARM CPU core products further."

Oki also has acquired Bronze IP status from UMC for its 0.15um ARM946E-S(tm) core, the hard IP of the ARM9 family. The ARM946E-S(tm) core also suits embedded applications because of its high performance, low cost and low power consumption and combines the ARM9E-S(tm) CPU core, a flexible command cache and data cache. This is currently used in various products, using one of Oki's system LSI development platforms, the uPLAT(r)-946, which are under sample shipment. Oki plans volume production in September 2004 and aims to be certified as UMC's Silver IP and Gold IP.

Both IPs have been used in products, which gives Oki and UMC customers the confidence that these cores are proven and can be integrated into their designs with ease. Using these cores, customers can add their own circuit and IPs, which allow them to develop a satisfying system LSI in a short period of time. By providing the development environment to many users, Oki plans to achieve sales of 34 billion yen for its ARM related products in the fiscal year ending March 2007.

About Oki Electric Industry

Founded more than a century ago in 1881, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6703) is Japan's first telecommunications manufacturer, with its headquarter in Tokyo, Japan. With the corporate vision, "Oki, Network Solutions for a Global Society," Oki Electric provides top-quality products, technologies and solutions to its customers through its telecommunications systems, information systems and electronic devices segments. All three segments are integrated into one effective organization that functions as a collective force to create exciting new products and technologies, including information and telecom converged solutions. Through its business activities, Oki Electric satisfies a spectrum of customer needs in various markets.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) 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 90nm copper, 0.13um copper, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC is also a leader in 300mm manufacturing; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based UMCi are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. UMC employs over 9,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States.

Notes:

Names of companies and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.
Gold IP is a trademark of United Microelectronics Corp.
uPLAT is a registered trademark of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. in Japan, Germany and the UK.
ARM and ARM7TDMI are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM7, ARM9, and ARM946E-S are trademarks of ARM Limited. Any other trademarks or trade names are the property of their respective owners. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; and ARM Belgium N.V.
All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.