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

HSINCHU, Taiwan — (BUSINESS WIRE) — January 19, 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.

Note from UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections of future performance based on management's judgment, beliefs, current trends, and anticipated performance. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the OLED market and customer demand; the performance and capability of 28nm HV process; and expectation for mass production of OLED applications. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; risks relating to the integration process after acquisition; technological and development risks; and other risks as described in UMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F and Current Reports on Form 6-K. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and UMC undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200119005040/en/

eMemory Technology Inc.
Administration Center
Irene Chao
886-3-5601168 #1107
irene@ememory.com.tw

UMC
UMC Corporate Communications
Richard Yu
+886-2-2658-9168 ext. 16951
richard_yu@umc.com