AMD, Infineon and UMC to Jointly Develop Advanced Manufacturing Platform Technologies

Jul 30, 2002 | Market News

Joint news release from AMD, Infineon and UMC

Hsinchu, Taiwan and Munich, Germany, July 30, 2002. — AMD (NYSE: AMD), Infineon Technologies [NYSE: IFX], and UMC (NYSE: UMC) today announced plans to collaborate on the development of common 65/45 nanometer (nm) manufacturing platform technologies for the high-volume production of semiconductor logic products on next-generation 300 millimeter (mm) wafers. Each of the three companies will supply engineering resources and expertise to jointly develop common platform technologies, which will then be tailored by each company to meet specific manufacturing and product requirements. Initial work for the joint development program will take place at a UMC facility in Hsinchu, Taiwan. With this initiative, Infineon expands upon an existing agreement they have with UMC to develop 130/90 nm process technology and will join the process development program AMD and UMC announced earlier this year targeted for the 65 and 45nm nodes.

"In this third significant joint process development program with UMC, Infineon will join highly qualified teams from UMC and AMD. Whereas many companies are striving for cost reduction in R&D cooperation these days, the three partners can already build on a considerable history and set of experiences with successful implementation of such close alliances and therefore are very confident to quickly get the expected benefits," said Dr. Ulrich Schumacher, president and CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "With this joint program, Infineon again demonstrates its commitment to focused cooperation in order to strengthen our leadership position in the semiconductor industry.”

“The joint development program announced today brings together industry leaders and their expertise to deliver the next generations of semiconductor technologies,” said Robert Tsao, chairman of UMC. “With the combination of Infineon’s 300mm commitment and outstanding R&D talents coupled, AMD’s leadership in transistor and process development and UMC’s process and manufacturing leadership, we are well positioned to be the first semiconductor companies to deliver advanced nanometer technologies on 300mm wafers. In addition, this three-way alliance promises tremendous benefit to customers who will secure the advantage of the early introduction of the developed processes.”

“AMD’s joint development work with UMC and Infineon is a prime example of the type of cooperation that will come to lead the semiconductor industry in the age of 300mm manufacturing,” said Hector Ruiz, president and CEO of AMD. “The effort with UMC and Infineon will form the foundation for AMD’s 65 and 45 nanometer manufacturing technologies, and allow AMD to put additional development emphasis in process technology areas that are critical to our business and our customers, such as high-performance transistors and interconnects.”

With this latest development, Infineon and UMC add a significant research and development activity to their cooperation portfolio, which already includes a manufacturing joint venture known as UMCi. This 300-mm manufacturing joint venture located in Singapore is expected to be ready for equipment move-in in January 2003, with volume ramp up in the fourth quarter of that year.

About AMD


AMD (NYSE: 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.

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 130nm 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 its global customer base: Fab 12A in Taiwan, UMCi in Singapore (pilot production in Q2, 2003), and AU Pte. Ltd., a joint venture facility with AMD 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 www.umc.com.

About Infineon


Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2001 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.67 billion with about 33,800 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com.

Note 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 demands for products, and technological and development risks.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Infineon and the stylized Infineon Technologies design are trademarks and servicemarks of Infineon Technologies AG. Any other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.


Editorial Contacts:


AMD
Drew Prairie
512-602-4425
drew.prairie@amd.com

UMC
KJ Communications
Eileen Elam
(650) 917-1488
KjcomE@cs.com

UMC in Taiwan
Alex Hinnawi
(886) 2-2700-6999 ext. 6958
alex_hinnawi@umc.com

Information Number

INFXX200207.129e