Several large, high growth semiconductor markets such as display drivers, power management controllers, RF ICs, and secure media applications require new features and functionality that drive the need for low bit-count embedded NVM. By offering Impinj's AEON product family on UMC's standard logic CMOS process, fabless semiconductor companies in these markets will benefit from silicon IP that can be easily integrated into their designs using UMC's process technologies.
"As the demand for embedded NVM continues to increase, we are pleased to partner with a foundry such as UMC," said Larry Morrell, Vice President of IP Products at Impinj. "Impinj and UMC are collaborating to bring state-of-the-art IP to UMC's customers. By offering our IP on UMC's industry leading processes we provide semiconductor designers access to the nonvolatile memory they need in the process technology they want."
"UMC continues to expand its IP offerings to meet the needs of customers designing today's sophisticated SoCs," said Ken Liou, director of the IP and Design Support division at UMC. "Impinj's technology is a welcome addition to our portfolio, as it will provide designers with a silicon proven NVM option for their 0.18um and 0.13um designs. We are pleased to offer the ease-of-integration and performance benefits of this IP to our customers."
Impinj and UMC will jointly qualify AEON/MTP and AEON/HV products in UMC's 0.18um and 0.13um technology nodes. The products provide true multiple-times programmable NVM with up to 100,000 programming cycles, support for high voltage I/O, 10-year retention, and bit-counts from 8 bits up to 8,000 bits.
About Impinj, Inc.
Impinj, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company whose patented Self-Adaptive Silicon® technology enables its two synergistic business lines: high performance RFID products and semiconductor intellectual property. A leading contributor to the RFID standards for high volume supply-chain applications worldwide, Impinj leverages its technical expertise and industry partnerships to deliver the GrandPrix™ solution, comprising tags, readers, software and systems integration to offer RFID that just works™. Impinj's innovative IP products, core to the company's RFID tags, are licensed to leading semiconductor companies worldwide, allowing them to seamlessly integrate crucial nonvolatile memory (NVM) alongside analog and digital functionality on a single chip. Impinj's IP products include the popular AEON® family of embeddable cores, which provide rewriteable NVM technology in logic CMOS manufacturing. For more information, visit www.impinj.com.
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 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 12,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found at www.umc.com.
Note From UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, business relationships and market conditions. 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; and technological and development risks.
Editorial Contacts: UMC KJ Communications Eileen Elam (650) 917-1488 Email Contact In Taiwan: UMC Alex Hinnawi (886) 2-2700-6999 ext. 6958 Impinj Jill West Impinj, Inc. 206-834-1110 Email Contact Lynda Kaye Mango Communications 650-799-2888 Email Contact