MAIA, Portugal, and HSINCHU, Taiwan, April 20, 2004 - Chipidea Microelectrónica, SA (Chipidea), an analog and mixed-signal semiconductor IP provider and world leader in high speed USB2.0 On-The-Go (OTG), and UMC (NYSE: UMC), a world leading semiconductor foundry, today announced that Chipidea's CI12323ul USB High Speed OTG Physical Interface (PHY) IP core has achieved silicon verified "Silver" status in UMC's Gold IP program for 0.13um process technologies and is ready for design-in. The core targets customers designing chips for portable applications such as mobile phones and PDAs, allowing these devices to directly connect with each other.

"Targeting the new CI12323ul USB OTG core to UMC's 0.13um process technology demonstrates Chipidea's commitment toward developing IP cores for wide distribution, and is a natural step that will give our customers a competitive edge in terms of area and performance," said Milton Sousa, business development manager of Chipidea's IP Connectivity Solutions Business Line. "Prior to this latest effort, we have achieved high-speed certification of our USB OTG High Speed core (CI12295ug) on UMC's 0.18um process. This IP was further used to develop an Integrated Circuit (IC) with a USB Low Pin Interface (ULPI)--samples from Chipidea are slated for availability in July."

The CI12323ul is a USB OTG High Speed PHY IP that supports UTMI+ and can be used in host, device or dual-role applications. The deliverables package of the CI12323ul includes all backend views (GDSII, place and route abstracts and timing information), as well as a simulation model with a quick start testbench and extensive documentation covering the specification, testability, assembly and production guidelines and a detailed silicon characterization report. With a total core area of 0.9mm2 and max current consumption in high speed transmit mode of 47mA, this IP provides a cost-effective solution with high performance and high-power efficiency, key elements for portable applications.

Ken Liou, director of the Design Support Division at UMC, stated, "UMC understands and continues to address the needs of our customers designing for the portable consumer market. Designers of analog & mixed signal chips using UMC's proven, mainstream 0.13um technology platform will welcome the availability of Chipidea's USB 2.0 IP core through our Gold IP program. We value our IP partnership with Chipidea, and look forward to continuing our productive relationship."

USB OTG (On-The-Go), (announced in February 2004, see http://www.chipidea.com/website_45c/index.html), is a supplement to the USB 2.0 specification, brings the additional feature of allowing portable devices to act as a limited host and exchange data directly with each other without requiring a PC to act as the host. It is estimated that more than 1.4 billion products are designed with USB ports, making USB the predominant I/O connectivity standard in the market. USB On-The-Go (OTG) enhances the USB specification by allowing point-to-point communication between devices. As devices like mobile phones and PDAs gain in popularity and intelligence, the requirement for a direct connection to each other is also growing. The answer to this requirement is the standard called USB On-The-Go. For more information on the USB2.0 OTG core and other products of Chipidea please consult the web site at www.chipidea.com.

UMC's Gold IP program provides customers with an industry leading selection of IP resources through collaboration with worldwide IP vendors to establish a solution-based IP pool. This vast offering of compatible IP elements is optimized for cost, portability, and reusability for easy incorporation into an SOC in a plug and play fashion. The results are then coded online at UMC's IP Master system & Gold IP catalog as Bronze: softcore available, Silver: silicon verified through UMC's Silicon Shuttle multi-chip test wafer program, and Gold: mass production proven.

Chipidea is a leading semiconductor IP Company headquartered in Portugal providing solutions for complex connectivity, analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing applications. Chipidea works together with all major open foundries as well as captive fabs from global semiconductor firms. Its broad portfolio ranges from AD/DA converters to Codecs, Power and Clock Management, AFEs for digital media and communications, wireless transceivers and USB physical interfaces. Chipidea employs over 160 people worldwide, with plans to reach 250 in 2006, and has offices in Europe, North America and Asia. Chipidea can be found on the web at http://www.chipidea.com.

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 90nm copper, 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 Singapore-based UMCi has just entered volume production. 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.