SST and UMC Announce Availability of Qualified 55 nm Embedded SuperFlash® Memory Platform and 40 nm License

Chandler, Ariz., and Hsinchu, Taiwan, Feb. 23, 2015 — Microchip Technology Inc. [NASDAQ: MCHP], a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, through its Silicon Storage Technology (SST) subsidiary, and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) (“UMC”), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced the full quali1cation and availability of SST’s 55 nm embedded SuperFlash non-volatile memory on UMC’s 55 nm platform. Additionally, UMC extended its licensing agreement to include SST’s 40 nm embedded Flash intellectual property (IP). The quali1cation of UMC’s 55 nm, split-gate-cell SuperFlash technology-based process was performed according to JEDEC standards, and showed 100k endurance with more than 10 years of data retention at 85C and an operating-temperature range of -40C to 125C.

Today, the value of an average car’s semiconductor content has grown to about $350, with more than 60% of that content comprising microcontrollers (MCUs) and analog. Embedded Flash is a key component in the majority of those automotive MCUs. Moreover, Gartner predicts that there will be 25 billion connected things in use by 2020, and many of those Internet of Things (IoT) products will contain at least one MCU with Embedded Flash. To date, more than 50 billion devices have shipped with SST’s SuperFlash technology, and the explosively growing automotive and IoT markets are just two examples of the continued need for this IP.

“Our latest agreement underscores UMC’s strong commitment to technology leadership,” said Mark Reiten, vice president of Technology Licensing for SST, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microchip. “Additionally, this expanded partnership further strengthens our market leadership in embedded, Flash-based devices for automotive, industrial, consumer and IoT applications.”

“UMC is pleased with the results of SST’s 55 nm SuperFlash technology, having successfully engaged with multiple customers,” said S.C. Chien, UMC’s vice president of Specialty Technology Development. “UMC continues to grow customer deployments of our 55 nm SuperFlash technology-based platform in broad markets such as automotive, industrial, consumer and IoT, and we are committed to continuing that success by extending our partnership to include SST’s 40 nm technology.”

SST’s SuperFlash technology complements UMC’s embedded memory portfolio, by enabling high-density and performance-driven IC designs. UMC’s ample capacity and high yield maturity for 55 nm/40 nm helps its foundry realize more than 30% of its revenue contribution from these mainstream nodes. Several variations of UMC’s 55 nm and 40 nm processes are available, including the ultra-low-power 55 uLP and 40 uLP processes, which were developed for today’s portable applications that demand longer battery life.