TECHNOLOGY
HSINCHU, TAIWAN, and SUNNYVALE, CA, -- September 9, 2002 -- AMD (NYSE: AMD)
and UMC (NYSE: UMC) today announced plans to jointly develop sophisticated
advanced process control (APC) technology for cost-effective, high-volume 300-mm
semiconductor manufacturing. APC technology automates complex processes in
high-volume semiconductor manufacturing to help minimize costs, maximize
productivity, ensure consistently high levels of quality, and facilitate
real-time adjustments to any part of the manufacturing process. This technology
is expected to enable higher revenues per wafer and lower manufacturing costs.
AMD and UMC will implement the jointly developed APC technology at the two
companies' joint-venture 300-mm semiconductor manufacturing facility in
Singapore, Au Pte., which is currently expected to begin production in 2005.
This technology will also be implemented at UMC's other 300-mm facilities,
including Fab 12A in Tainan, which is currently in volume production for a numbe!
r of UMC customers.
"For some time, AMD has demonstrated a clear APC technology leadership
position in the semiconductor industry," said Dan Hutcheson, President and CEO
of VLSI Research. "It is a testament to that leadership that a respected foundry
like UMC has chosen to align with AMD for the development of APC on
next-generation 300-mm manufacturing." "AMD's collaboration with UMC will ensure
that both companies leverage the substantial benefits APC technology provides to
maximize the potential cost and productivity advances of 300-mm manufacturing,"
said Bill Siegle, AMD Senior Vice President, Technology Operations and Chief
Scientist. "As a recognized leader in APC technology, AMD was one of the first
semiconductor companies to adopt APC technology for high-volume manufacturing.
Both AMD and UMC believe that productivity advances driven by APC will prove to
be an essential component in 300-mm semiconductor manufacturing, as has already
been proven in 200-mm manufacturing."
The collaboration is expected to lead the industry in the development of
technologies that drive the evolution of state-of-the-art, automated 300-mm
manufacturing facilities. AMD and UMC customers around the world are expected to
benefit from the development of leading-edge technology that drives down
manufacturing costs through rapid, cost-effective implementation of the most
advanced process technologies and manufacturing practices. The increased value
potential of larger, next-generation 300-mm wafers mandates that chipmakers keep
their manufacturing operations within very tight process windows. APC focuses on
minimizing manufacturing errors through the use of real-time, automated controls
that reduce negative impacts on quality, efficiency, and yields.
"Advanced process control will play a critical role in enabling chipmakers to
realize the cost benefits of moving to 300-mm through improved yield and device
performance," said Chris Chi, Senior Vice President, Fab Operations and
President, UMCi. "One of our goals with this collaboration is to establish a new
standard for automated wafer fabrication. AMD has led the industry in
implementing advanced process control for high-volume IC production, and has
gained a tremendous amount of knowledge in this critical technology. UMC has
been the leader in the development and adaptation of 300-mm fab automation
technology. By leveraging our combined manufacturing expertise, we can
accelerate the proliferation of advanced control technologies required for
automated wafer fabrication."
AMD is considered a world leader in APC, and first began implementing APC
technology at the company's Fab 25 facility located in Austin, Texas in 1996.
AMD's Fab 30 facility ? located in Dresden, Germany ? is a highly automated, APC-based
manufacturing facility widely recognized for its technology leadership. In fact,
Semiconductor International named Fab 30 "Fab of the Year" in 2001.
UMC began production at its Fab 12A 300-mm facility in 2001, which is now
producing customer products in volume quantities. With three separate ongoing
300mm fab projects, UMC leads the foundry industry in the migration to
production on the larger wafers.
More about APC
Advanced Process Control (APC) provides real time closed loop process control
to enable wafer processing with greater precision and tighter tolerances. APC
run-to-run control technology (RtR) will help minimize process drift and
variation by providing real-time, automated feed-forward and feedback
adjustments to process tools. APC fault detection and classification technology
(FDC) will be utilized to reduce wafer jeopardy by monitoring and proactively
shutting down the complex tools used in 300 mm manufacturing before machine
drift can adversely affect device yields.
About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and
networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in
the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard &
Poor's 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and support
circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and
based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $3.9 billion in 2001. (NYSE:
AMD).
About UMC
UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) is a world-leading semiconductor foundry that
manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector
of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers the cutting-edge foundry
technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SOC) designs, including
0.13um copper/low k, embedded DRAM, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. In addition, UMC is
a leader in 300mm manufacturing with three strategically located 300mm fabs to
serve our global customer base: Fab 12A in Taiwan, UMCi in Singapore (pilot
production Q2 2003), and AU Pte. Ltd., a joint venture facility with AMD that is
also located in Singapore (production in 2005). UMC employs over 8,500 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.
