INDUSTRY

SUNNYVALE, CA -- UMC (NYSE:UMC), a leading semiconductor foundry, and Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) (NASDAQ:AMCC), today announced that AMCC has selected UMC for the 0.13-micron WorldLogic(R) production of next-generation optical networking silicon. WorldLogic process technology enables complete OC-192 SONET/SDH and 10 Gigabit Ethernet solutions from the physical layer to the switch fabric, offering a platform with "no compromises" to realize multiple specialized functions such as high-speed, mixed-signal interfaces and the world's most advanced network processors. "With this announcement, AMCC is further demonstrating its leadership role in bringing the most advanced semiconductor technologies to market in the high-bandwidth communications arena," said Brent Little, senior vice president of marketing for AMCC. "To address our customers' demands for higher levels of integration, lower cost and lower-power solutions without performance degradation or time-to-market penalties, we chose to partner with UMC. This foundry provides world-class semiconductor technology at 0.13-micron, with full-featured mixed-signal capabilities, copper and SiLK low-K dielectric enabling us to reduce wire delays and power consumption. UMC's continued customer support and short cycle times are key reasons why we have recently awarded UMC our 'Engineering Ownership' award." AMCC is utilizing UMC's 0.13-micron CMOS technology with full mixed-signal options, including MiM capacitors, triple well isolation, and low Vt transistors. Jim Ballingall, vice president of worldwide marketing at UMC noted, "AMCC is a leader in optical network solutions and a highly strategic customer for us, and therefore demands leading-edge technology and excellent customer support and cycle times. UMC is committed to continuing to deliver products based on the 0.13-micron process technology to market as soon as possible, thereby meeting the requirements of today's leading communications developers. For example, we provide mixed-signal technology that is built upon the foundry industry's fastest logic transistor, such that it can replace the 10Gb/s mixed-signal interfaces that are usually dominated by SiGe BiCMOS. Similarly, our embedded SRAM and DRAM technologies are built upon this same high-speed transistor, enabling a true SOC platform." AMCC will be sampling its first 0.13-micron CMOS silicon solutions this quarter. For further information visit www.amcc.com or www.umc.com