UMC expands 90-nm customer base; silicon success at 90-nm node puts HBA at the forefront of Sync SRAM technology

Hsinchu, July 2, 2003-UMC, a world leading semiconductor foundry (NYSE: UMC) and High Bandwidth Access, Inc. (HBA), developer of advanced FIFO and specialty memory devices for high capacity broadband networks, today announced the successful prototyping of HBA's high speed IC based on the foundry's 90-nm process. The two engineering teams achieved working silicon on their first pass, signifying the close collaboration between the companies to successfully integrate HBA's design with UMC's most advanced process. Volume production for HBA's IC is expected later this year.

Steven Huang, chairman and CEO of HBA, commented, "We are proud to cooperate with UMC on this 90-nm ZeBL SRAM design. Our ability to produce working samples on first-pass silicon is a strong testimony to the capabilities of HBA's memory design team, and confirms UMC's proven track record as the foundry industry leader in the delivery of the most advanced production technologies. We anticipate that leveraging UMC's leadership at 90-nm will further boost the competitiveness of our products and greatly increase our revenues from Sync SRAM sales to the billion-dollar Telecom & Data communications market."

UMC's 90-nm HS (High speed) process enables the SRAM prototype to deliver extremely high performance while maintaining a low operational current and a core voltage range of 0.8V-1.4V. The IC paves the way for future SoC integration and is suited for HBA's new high density ZeBL (Zero Bus Latency) SRAM family. In addition, the two companies have validated key analog and digital IPs for UMC's 90-nm process.

Jackson Hu, president of the New Business Development Group at UMC, said, "UMC's partnership strategy played a fundamental role in the development of this 90-nm IC, as both companies worked very closely together to accomplish first silicon success. We are pleased to realize the fruits of our hard work with HBA with the delivery of this 90-nm prototype, and look forward to continuing our cooperation with them to further develop their product line."

About HBA
High Bandwidth Access (HBA) is an ISO 9001 certified, fabless IC design company delivering a full range of the most advanced FIFO and specialty memory products to the electronics industry. Based on an innovative architecture and ASIC approach, HBA products provide the industry's highest bandwidth, highest density (up to 5Mb), and competitive prices on 3.3V and 5V memory devices. HBA has partnered with IC foundry leader UMC for semiconductor manufacturing and ASE Test Limited for IC packaging and testing, ensuring customers of high quality, high capacity, just-in-time delivery, and access to the latest technology. For more information about HBA, visit the company's website at www.hba.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 0.13um copper, embedded DRAM, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC is also a leader in 300mm manufacturing; Fab 12A in Taiwan is currently in volume production for a variety of customer products, while the Singapore-based UMCi joint venture with Infineon Technologies will begin pilot production later this year. 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.

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