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Ameya360:<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> and Cadence Partner on 3D-IC Hybrid Bonding Reference Flow

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Ameya360:UMC and Cadence Partner on 3D-IC Hybrid Bonding Reference Flow

　　Cadence Design Systems Inc.’s 3D-IC reference flow, featuring the Integrity 3D-IC Platform, has been certified for United Microelectronics Corp.’s (UMC) chip stacking technologies, thereby enabling faster time to market for customers.　　UMC’s hybrid bonding solutions are now ready to support the integration across a broad range of technology nodes that are suitable for edge AI, image processing, and wireless communication applications. Using UMC’s 40nm low power (40LP) process as a wafer-on-wafer stacking demonstration, the two companies collaborated to validate key 3D-IC features in this design flow, including system planning and intelligent bump creation with Cadence’s Integrity 3D-IC platform, the industry’s first comprehensive solution that integrates system planning, chip and packaging implementation, and system analysis in a single platform.　　“Interest in 3D-IC solutions has increased notably in the past year as our customers seek ways to boost design performance without sacrificing area or cost,” said Osbert Cheng, vice president of device technology development and design support at UMC. “Cost-effectiveness and design reliability are the pillars of UMC’s hybrid bonding technologies, and this collaboration with Cadence provides mutual customers with both, helping them reap the benefits of 3D structures while also accelerating the time needed to complete their integrated designs.”　　“With increasing design complexity for IoT, AI, and 5G applications, wafer-on-wafer technology automation is increasingly important for chip designers,” said Don Chan, vice president, R&D in the Digital & Signoff Group at Cadence. “The Cadence 3D-IC flow with the Integrity 3D-IC platform is optimized for use on UMC’s hybrid bonding technologies, providing customers with a comprehensive design, verification and implementation solution that enables them to create and verify innovative 3D-IC designs with confidence while accelerating time to market.”　　The reference flow, featuring Cadence’s Integrity 3D-IC Platform, is built around a high-capacity, multi-technology hierarchical database. The platform offers design planning, implementation and analysis of full 3D designs within a single, unified cockpit. Multiple chiplets in a 3D stack can be designed and analyzed together through integrated early analysis for thermal, power and static timing analysis. The reference flow also enables system-level layout versus schematic (LVS) checking to connectivity accuracy, electric rule-checking (ERC) for coverage and alignment checking, and thermal analysis for heat distribution in a 3D stacked-die design structure.　　In addition to the Integrity 3D-IC platform, the Cadence 3D-IC flow also includes the Innovus Implementation System, Quantus Extraction Solution, Tempus Timing Signoff Solution, Pegasus Verification System, Voltus IC Power Integrity Solution and Celsius Thermal Solver for system analysis.

Key word：

UMC,3D,IC

Release time：2023-02-22 15:54 reading：1811 Continue reading>>

<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> Halts R&D Project with China Chipmaker

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UMC Halts R&D Project with China Chipmaker

Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has shelved an R&D project with Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua after the U.S. government ordered a ban on supplies of equipment to the company.The U.S. government on Monday cut off U.S. firms from supplying Fujian Jinhua following allegations that the Chinese fab stole intellectual property from U.S. semiconductor company Micron Technology. The move comes as the U.S. escalates a trade war with China that is increasingly focused on high-tech products.UMC and Jinhua started a project in May 2016 to develop technology for DRAM chips. Jinhua agreed to supply equipment and an unspecified amount of money to UMC for development of the technology at a UMC fab in Tainan, Taiwan. As part of the agreement, the partners would jointly own the technology. UMC planned to use the technology for its foundry customers and did not plan to enter DRAM production or invest in Jinhua.“We are just following the regulations set forth by the Taiwan government and the U.S. government,” UMC spokesman Richard Yu told EE Times regarding the suspended R&D project. Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade issued a bulletin to domestic companies regarding business with Fujian Jinhua following the U.S. government ban.Yu was unable to elaborate on what technology, if any, UMC has transferred to Jinhua at this stage. He noted that the R&D project has been underway for more than two years.The U.S. Commerce Dept. said that Fujian Jinhua is nearing completion of its DRAM fab and that its technology likely originated in the U.S. The Chinese company, which has invested $5.7 billion in a 12-inch fab in Fujian Province’s Jinjiang City, is scheduled to start its first production this year.With the support of the Chinese government, several startups in the nation aim to make memory chips to reduce dependence on imports of semiconductors.UMC’s R&D work for Jinhua has been done at the 32nm node, which is several generations behind state-of-the-art technology for DRAM production. UMC developed its DRAM technology a number of years ago, Yu said.It is possible that Jinhua might eventually shrink the technology acquired from UMC, but UMC was not contracted to do further refinements, according to Yu.It is likely that Jinhua plans to use the technology to make commodity DRAM.UMC is part of a joint-venture investment with another Fujian chipmaker called United Semi in the city of Xiamen, but the Taiwan company has no equity relationship with Fujian Jinhua.

Key word：

UMC,Fujian Jinhua

Release time：2018-11-02 00:00 reading：1154 Continue reading>>

<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> and Avalanche Technology partner for MRAM development and 28nm production

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UMC and Avalanche Technology partner for MRAM development and 28nm production

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) (“UMC”), a global semiconductor foundry, and Avalanche Technology, Inc., the next generation STT-MRAM (Spin Transfer Torque Magnetic RAM) leader, today announced that they have entered a partnership for joint development and production of MRAM to replace embedded flash. UMC will also make this technology available to other companies through licensing with Avalanche Technology Inc.Under the terms of the agreement, UMC will provide embedded non-volatile MRAM blocks based on UMC’s 28nm CMOS manufacturing process. This will enable customers to integrate low latency, very high performance and low power embedded MRAM memory blocks into MCUs and SoCs, targeting the Internet of Things, wearable, consumer, industrial and automotive electronics markets.The two companies are also considering to expand the cooperation beyond 28nm, as Avalanche Technology’s CMOS compatibility and scalability to advanced process nodes enables integration of unified memory (non-volatile as well as SRAM) blocks into next generation highly integrated MCUs and SoCs. This allows system designers to maintain the same architecture and software ecosystem without a redesign.“We’re excited to team with a world leader in semiconductor manufacturing such as UMC to bring this outstanding technology to market,” said Petro Estakhri, CEO and co-founder of Avalanche Technology.“UMC is continuously introducing enhanced process offerings to bring added competitive benefits to our customers,” said G C Hung, vice president of Advanced Technology Development at UMC. “With embedded NVM becoming more prevalent in today’s IC designs, we have developed a strong portfolio of robust eNVM process solutions for high growth sectors such as emerging consumer and automotive applications. We are happy to cooperate with Avalanche Technology for 28nm MRAM, and we look forward to ramping this process to production for UMC customers.”

Key word：

UMC,Avalanche Technology

Release time：2018-08-07 00:00 reading：2480 Continue reading>>

Allegro MicroSystems and <span style='color:red'>UMC</span> sign long-term foundry agreement

Trade news

Allegro MicroSystems and UMC sign long-term foundry agreement

Allegro MicroSystems, a supplier of high-performance power and sensing semiconductors, and United Microelectronics, a global semiconductor foundry, have signed a long-term agreement for UMC to continue as Allegro’s primary foundry wafer manufacturer.The agreement covers technical collaboration and establishes capacity at UMC for Allegro’s proprietary automotive-grade technologies, supporting the strong long-term growth of Allegro. The two companies established a previous agreement in 2012 that initiated the transfer and production of Allegro’s own technologies to UMC’s manufacturing facilities.“We wanted a partnership that would help us expand Allegro’s business and portfolio. UMC has been extremely successful in satisfying the technology, quality, and production needs of our customers,” said Thomas Teebagy, Senior Vice President of Operations and Quality. “UMC has the capacity and technology to accommodate Allegro’s projected growth and increasing wafer shipment requirements.”Allegro has previously ported its ABCD4 and ABCD6 processes to UMC and will continue to port its own processes under the newly signed agreement. Currently, the two companies are developing Allegro’s A10S and A10P 0.18um BCD technologies as well as supporting custom, leading edge GMR / TMR on-silicon integration.Commenting Bruce Lai, Vice President of 8" Operations at UMC said, “UMC’s sustained effort towards developing robust specialty and automotive technologies has enabled us to become a foundry leader in automotive IC production, with AEC-Q100 qualified processes backed by manufacturing that complies with rigorous ISO TS-16949 automotive quality standards for all UMC fabs."We value our long-standing partnership with Allegro to produce their automotive ICs, and we are pleased to extend our cooperation through this new agreement to support their future growth requirements and help enhance their market position.”

Key word：

Allegro,UMC

Release time：2018-08-01 00:00 reading：1319 Continue reading>>

<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> Won the Preliminary Injunction against Micron in China; Global Memory Market Is Very Likely to See Reshuffle

Trade news

UMC Won the Preliminary Injunction against Micron in China; Global Memory Market Is Very Likely to See Reshuffle

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) filed a lawsuit against Micron Technology subsidiaries in China for patent infringements in January 2018, and demanded a compensation of RMB 270 million ($40.7 million). UMC also requested the court to order potential defendants to stop manufacturing, processing, importing, and selling the allegedly infringing products. Yesterday, Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court of China issued a preliminary injunction against Micron, enjoining Micron from selling related items in China. DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, expects that the global memory market may have a reshuffle if the judgment is enforced and other Chinese memory suppliers enter the market next year.Micron Technology offers Micron-branded products as well as Crucial-branded notebook DRAM modules and SSD. After this lawsuit, some of its PC DRAM and SSD products are facing a ban on sales in China. Micron still has the right to appeal, and the follow-up of this case is bound to become the focus of the global memory industry amid the critical stage for the US-China trade war. In addition, the production will formally begin in China's domestic DRAM industry, adding to the tensions between the two countries.As a major DRAM supplier, Micron took the third place in the global DRAM revenue ranking for 1Q18 with a market share of 23%, following 45% of Samsung and 28% of SK Hynix, says DRAMeXchange. On the demand front, Chinese domestic market is expected to consume around 26% of the DRAM bit output of Micron, and 20% of global DRAM bit output in 2018 as China remains the world's second-largest economy. If the judgment is enforced in the future, Micron will be prohibited from selling some of its memory products in China. This is bound to influence the company’s revenue performance, which would directly benefit its competitors including Samsung, SK Hynix, as well as Innotron (Hefei Chang Xin) and JHICC who are expected to enter the market formally in 2019.In terms of NAND Flash, Chinese domestic market is expected to consume 25% of global NAND Flash bit output this year, according to the data of DRAMeXchange. In 1Q18, Micron’s NAND Flash revenue ranked the fourth worldwide with a market share of 12%, following 37% of Samsung, 19% of Toshiba and 15% of WDC. Chinese domestic market is expected to consume around 20% of the NAND Flash bit output of Micron in 2018. If the ban is enacted, Micron’s competitors, including Samsung, SK Hynix, WDC, Intel, Toshiba and the new entrant YMTC would be benefited.The judgment issued on July 3rd not only banned the sales of some Micron-branded and Crucial-branded products in China, but also ordered Micron’s IC assembly/testing plant in Xi’an to halt operation; Micron Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. has also been ordered to cease sales. The judgment will have significant impacts on the sales of products under Micron's own brand or the Crucial brand in China. Moreover, the businesses of Micron's downstream partners would also be affected.

Key word：

Memory Market

Release time：2018-07-06 00:00 reading：1105 Continue reading>>

<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> Board Approves 100% Acquisition of MIFS Fab from Fujitsu

Trade news

UMC Board Approves 100% Acquisition of MIFS Fab from Fujitsu

United Microelectronics Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has approved for the company to fully acquire Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (MIFS), a 12-inch wafer foundry based in Mie, Japan, from Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (Fujitsu Semiconductor). Based on the net value of MIFS on March 31, 2018, the purchase value will be no more than ¥ JPN 57.63 billion. UMC currently owns 15.9% of MIFS shares. Under the terms of the agreement, Fujitsu Semiconductor will transfer the remaining 84.1% of its shares in MIFS to UMC, making MIFS a wholly-owned subsidiary.UMC’s Board of Directors also approved plans for the company to apply with the China Securities Regulatory Commission for UMC’s mainland operations to be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as an A-list offering. HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co. will represent UMC’s China businesses, which include HeJian’s 8” fab, United Semi and its 12” fab in Xiamen and Shandong-based UDS, which provides IC design support services.Jason Wang, co-president of UMC said, “UMC is experiencing high demand from mature 12" processes. With new applications in 5G, IoT, automotive and AI requiring these technologies, we anticipate the market conditions driving this demand to remain strong. With existing 300mm fabs in Taiwan, China and Singapore, Japan-based MIFS will help customers further diversify their manufacturing risk with a robust production base to ensure business continuity while enhancing UMC’s worldwide service quality. We are excited that the strong partnership between UMC and Fujitsu Semiconductor will enable us to achieve further growth and provide customers with higher value through the acquisition of MIFS.”Co-president Wang continued, “An A-share listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange for our HeJian-led China subsidiaries provides an ideal path for UMC to quickly capitalize on the rapid growth of China’s semiconductor market and facilitate long-term development. The raised capital would be allocated towards reinvestment in UMC’s successful China operations in order to provide customers with a complete, integrated IC manufacturing solution from chip design to manufacturing, which will help expand our market share and further increase production scale, technical quality, and overall competitiveness.”Listing of A-shares to provide a more diversified source of local funds improves the company’s financial structure and strengthens the company's asset and capital positions, while allowing more capital to remain in Taiwan. As part of the listing, UMC can also attract and retain top local talent through implementation of an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP).The revenue of HeJian constitutes about 11% of UMC’s consolidated revenue, while the number of new shares planned for issue will also be around 11% of the total shares outstanding. UMC will remain the majority shareholder possessing approximately 87% of HeJian’s equity, with no meaningful dilution to the rights and interests of the parent company.Co-president Wang added, “UMC has always been committed to expanding its operating scale, strengthening customer competitiveness and enhancing shareholder value through globally diversified manufacturing. The Board of Directors’ approval to fully acquire MIFS from Fujitsu and publicly listing our China operations on the local stock exchange will help drive UMC’s long-term development and achieve global synergies that will strengthen the company's manufacturing competitiveness, while maintaining our established base in Taiwan.”

Key word：

UMC,Fujitsu

Release time：2018-07-03 00:00 reading：2371 Continue reading>>

S<span style='color:red'>UMC</span>O expects higher wafer prices

Trade news

SUMCO expects higher wafer prices

Silicon wafer supplier Formosa SUMCO Technology Corp (台勝科) yesterday said it expects wafer prices to climb by a double-digit percentage this year as a supply shortage persists amid robust demand for chips used in cars, and industrial and Internet of Things devices.The company said it sees no signs of demand receding anytime soon after an upcycle that has lasted five quarters, which propelled wafer prices amid an explosive growth in demand.The uptrend in prices might carry into next year as global chipmakers, from China in particular, are opening new factories to expand capacities to cope with end-market demand, it told investors.“Silicon wafer demand will continue to grow over the next two years through 2020, buoyed by resilient global GDP growth of between 3 and 4 percent a year,” Formosa SUMCO vice president R. S. Chao (趙榮祥) said.“We have order visibility through the end of 2018. There is a good chance of seeing price increases, given unresolved supply constraints,” Chao said.Outlook for the next five years to 2022 is also promising, Formosa SUMCO said.Silicon wafer demand is to increase at an annual compound rate of 5 percent, or 6 percent from last year to 2022 based on a SUMCO Techxiv Corp foracast, Chao said.However, customers gave a more ambitious growth forecast of 9.7 percent, he said.China has the strongest growth potential, as demand is to soar 1.35 times during the period, Chao said.In addition to South Korea’s SK Hynix Co and Samsung Electronics Co, Chinese memory chipmakers Fujian Jin Hua Integrated Circuit Co (晉華電子), Innotron Memory Co (合肥長鑫) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (長江存儲) are gearing up to build new plants, Chao said.About 10 percent of Formosa SUMCO’s 12-inch wafers were exported to China last quarter, from almost nothing last year, the company said.SUMCO has about a 47 percent stake in Formosa SUMCO, while Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) owns about 29 percent.Formosa SUMCO plans to spend NT$1.6 billion (US$53.4 million) this year to boost production efficiency to increase capacities, the company said.That is a significant increase from a budget of about NT$500 million to NT$600 million last year.To make sure that customers have access to a stable supply, Formosa SUMCO said it is also considering adjusting its pricing strategy by signing six-month supply contracts with certain clients, Chao said.The company usually negotiates prices with customers every quarter, he said.Strong demand has helped the company grow its net profit by 58 percent quarter-by-quarter to NT$1.14 billion last quarter, compared with NT$712 million in the final quarter of last year, the firm said.On an annual basis, net profit more than tripled from NT$289 million. That translated into earnings per share of NT$1.45 last quarter, up from NT$0.92 a quarter earlier and NT$0.38 a year earlier.

Key word：

Trade news

Release time：2018-05-24 00:00 reading：1224 Continue reading>>

<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> Expects AI to Grow to $3 Billion Business

Trade news

UMC Expects AI to Grow to $3 Billion Business

　　TAIPEI — United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) expects artificial intelligence (AI) to contribute $3 billion to company revenue by 2021 as demand for edge computing and automotive devices takes off.　　AI is forecast to be one of the fastest growing markets during the next few years as more companies adopt machine learning in everything from autonomous vehicles to cryptocurrency mining. The global AI market for semiconductors is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 63 percent between 2016 and 2022, reaching $16 billion by 2022, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.　　UMC sees the driving forces behind the foundry business shifting from smartphones to AI and autonomous vehicles. While UMC declined to quantify how much its AI business is currently worth, the company said it is already doing AI-related work for edge computing devices and cars.　　“In recent months, we’ve seen a lot of customers coming to us to talk about the automobile segment,” said UMC Senior Vice President of Marketing Steven Liu in an interview with EE Times. “Not just Europe. We also see a lot of requests from Japan and the U.S.” That demand is coming from both IDMs and fabless companies, he said.　　In the automotive segment, UMC silicon goes into the power train, infotainment systems, ADAS and safety systems. UMC currently builds MCUs for infotainment and ADAS.　　More business is coming to UMC through fabless companies such as Faraday Technology Corp., a company that’s part of the UMC ecosystem.　　“Business for the design houses has been much stronger than I anticipated,” according to Liu. “The customer portfolio is different from before. A lot of the demand is from medium and small AI-related companies. We do see the momentum continuing.”　　UMC’s revenue contribution from the automotive segment doubled between 2016 and 2017. Due to the stringent safety and quality requirements of the industry, UMC is taking a long-term view toward development work, much of which probably will not pan out until 2020 or even 2030, according to Liu. Power and ADAS are two areas where UMC sees strong demand.　　Automobiles will soon play a different role, and quality, safety and the ability to communicate will become very important. UMC aims to focus on its automotive business by providing better quality and reliability. MCUs and ALRs are devices the company will aim for.　　UMC expects power-related devices to show huge potential over the next 10years. “We have an advantage today, and we will definitely enhance our technology leadership,” according to Liu. UMC will announce partnerships with customers this year, he said.　　Beyond the automotive business, UMC is aiming to provide devices for data sensing in edge computing such as MEMS sensors, audio codecs, control MCUs for robots and application processors for parallel computing.　　UMC is also evaluating emerging memories such as MRAM.　　“There is a chance we can be a leader here,” according to Liu. “At this moment, we are evaluating more than seven kinds of memories. Performance, cost and partnerships are among the factors UMC is considering.”　　Moving in a New Direction　　The company sees opportunity in AI as it moves in a new direction.　　“Rather than chasing advanced nodes and following the giants, at this moment, we need to slow down before we pursue the advanced nodes,” Liu said. UMC’s focus will be on edge computing and end devices. The company sees potential in neuromorphic chips. They don’t necessarily need the most advanced process technology, according to Liu.　　“UMC will have very good technology in sensors, which will be key elements for systems to retrieve data,” Liu said. Also microcontrollers. “MCUs will play a critical role for devices in IoT. That’s one reason why we will aim for strategic MCUs and SIM cards. Those are some of the key things that we see for AI.”　　UMC offers a variety of microcontrollers and some of the most competitive bank card solutions, according to Liu.　　UMC says its ecosystem is starting to change as demand for AI-related ASICs heats up. A lot of OEMs have their own design teams for software, algorithms and hardware. What’s different today is that the hardware also involves chip design. That has created a lot of demand, both direct and through design-service companies.　　“Starting from the second half of 2016 through 2017, the design-service companies, especially in Taiwan, have seen their business go crazy,” Liu says.

Key word：

UMC

Release time：2018-02-07 00:00 reading：1480 Continue reading>>

<span style='color:red'>UMC</span> Slashes Capex

Trade news

UMC Slashes Capex

　　United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) said it will pare its capital expenditures for this year to $1.1 billion as the company expects no significant increase in sales this year.　　Taiwan’s second-largest foundry will cut its capex by about a quarter from the $1.4 billion it spent in 2017. The company during most of 2017 was targeting a capex of $1.7 billion after spending $2 billion in 2016.　　The spending cuts come as the company’s sales of 28nm products flounder amid strong competition. UMC’s most advanced 14nm process technology, which the company launched in the second quarter last year, accounted for 2 percent of its overall sales during the fourth quarter of 2017.　　"Our 2018 revenue is not going to grow significantly," said UMC Co-President Jason Wang at an event to announce the company’s fourth-quarter 2017 results. The company is going through a restructuring transition that may take as many as two years, he said.　　UMC expects the overall foundry segment to grow in the high-single digits this year, a forecast that’s in line with that of its larger competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).　　TSMC believes it will continue to lead chip industry growth in 2018 with the company’s annual revenue gaining by as much as 15 percent from 2017. The overall growth rate for the foundry segment this year will be about 10 percent while the semiconductor industry will grow by as much as 8 percent, according to TSMC.　　UMC will increase expenditures on its 200mm fabs to about a third of capex, compared with about 9 percent last year. The boosted investment in the company’s 200mm facilities is aimed at upgrading existing capacity and strengthening average sales prices.　　Demand for chips made on eight-inch wafers has been “very robust,” according to Wang, particularly for mobile products, RF switches, microcontrollers and display drivers.　　Wang also said UMC will ramp up 14nm production, without providing a timeframe.　　UMC said it aims to “recover” in the 28nm business by expanding sales of its HPC and HPC+ versions later this year. The company said its 28nm high-k/metal gate stack (28HPCU) process can be used for products such as application processors, cellular baseband, FPGAs and networking ICs. The company says its new 28HPCU+ can provide a 15 percent boost in performance for wearable, IoT and automotive applications.　　Still, analysts were less positive about UMC’s outlook for a recovery in 28nm given increasing competition in that node and the likelihood that more foundry customers will migrate to 22nm during this year.　　"We remain negative on the 28 nm supply/demand dynamics and worry about the competitive pressure from TSMC and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC)," said Mark Li, an analyst with Bernstein in Hong Kong. "The number of new 28nm tapeouts is expected to double this year, but UMC also noted they will be from smaller customers and the individual volumes will be small."　　UMC plans to launch its 22nm process later this year, following TSMC, which has already put its own 22nm technology on the market.　　Focus on Returns　　UMC management repeatedly said during the quarterly results announcement that the new focus for the company is return on investment, a guideline that has made the company "cautious about R&D spending." The company has improved its cash flow and said it may acquire existing older capacity or evaluate mergers and acquisitions.　　UMC and TSMC during this month noted an increase in prices for blank wafers. UMC it said it may pass on those increases to customers while TSMC said it would find ways of internally offsetting the higher wafer prices.

Key word：

UMC,Capex

Release time：2018-01-26 00:00 reading：1277 Continue reading>>

Trade news

UMC Expects A Ito Grow to $3 Billion Business

　　United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) expects artificial intelligence (AI) to contribute $3 billion to company revenue by 2021 as demand for edge computing and automotive devices takes off.　　AI is forecast to be one of the fastest growing markets during the next few years as more companies adopt machine learning in everything from autonomous vehicles to cryptocurrency mining. The global AI market for semiconductors is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 63 percent between 2016 and 2022, reaching $16 billion by 2022, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.　　UMC sees the driving forces behind the foundry business shifting from smartphones to AI and autonomous vehicles. While UMC declined to quantify how much its AI business is currently worth, the company said it is already doing AI-related work for edge computing devices and cars.　　“In recent months, we’ve seen a lot of customers coming to us to talk about the automobile segment,” said UMC Senior Vice President of Marketing Steven Liu in an interview with EE Times. “Not just Europe. We also see a lot of requests from Japan and the U.S.” That demand is coming from both IDMs and fabless companies, he said.　　In the automotive segment, UMC silicon goes into the power train, infotainment systems, ADAS and safety systems. UMC currently builds MCUs for infotainment and ADAS.　　More business is coming to UMC through fabless companies such as Faraday Technology Corp., a company that’s part of the UMC ecosystem.　　“Business for the design houses has been much stronger than I anticipated,” according to Liu. “The customer portfolio is different from before. A lot of the demand is from medium and small AI-related companies. We do see the momentum continuing.”　　UMC’s revenue contribution from the automotive segment doubled between 2016 and 2017. Due to the stringent safety and quality requirements of the industry, UMC is taking a long-term view toward development work, much of which probably will not pan out until 2020 or even 2030, according to Liu. Power and ADAS are two areas where UMC sees strong demand.　　Automobiles will soon play a different role, and quality, safety and the ability to communicate will become very important. UMC aims to focus on its automotive business by providing better quality and reliability. MCUs and ALRs are devices the company will aim for.　　UMC expects power-related devices to show huge potential over the next 10years. “We have an advantage today, and we will definitely enhance our technology leadership,” according to Liu. UMC will announce partnerships with customers this year, he said.　　Beyond the automotive business, UMC is aiming to provide devices for data sensing in edge computing such as MEMS sensors, audio codecs, control MCUs for robots and application processors for parallel computing.　　UMC is also evaluating emerging memories such as MRAM.　　“There is a chance we can be a leader here,” according to Liu. “At this moment, we are evaluating more than seven kinds of memories. Performance, cost and partnerships are among the factors UMC is considering.”　　Moving in a New Direction　　The company sees opportunity in AI as it moves in a new direction.　　“Rather than chasing advanced nodes and following the giants, at this moment, we need to slow down before we pursue the advanced nodes,” Liu said. UMC’s focus will be on edge computing and end devices. The company sees potential in neuromorphic chips. They don’t necessarily need the most advanced process technology, according to Liu.　　“UMC will have very good technology in sensors, which will be key elements for systems to retrieve data,” Liu said. Also microcontrollers. “MCUs will play a critical role for devices in IoT. That’s one reason why we will aim for strategic MCUs and SIM cards. Those are some of the key things that we see for AI.”　　UMC offers a variety of microcontrollers and some of the most competitive bank card solutions, according to Liu.　　UMC says its ecosystem is starting to change as demand for AI-related ASICs heats up. A lot of OEMs have their own design teams for software, algorithms and hardware. What’s different today is that the hardware also involves chip design. That has created a lot of demand, both direct and through design-service companies.　　“Starting from the second half of 2016 through 2017, the design-service companies, especially in Taiwan, have seen their business go crazy,” Liu says.

Key word：

UMC,AI

Release time：2018-01-25 00:00 reading：1195 Continue reading>>

model	brand	Quote
CDZVT2R20B	ROHM Semiconductor
MC33074DR2G	onsemi
TL431ACLPR	Texas Instruments
BD71847AMWV-E2	ROHM Semiconductor
RB751G-40T2R	ROHM Semiconductor

model	brand	To snap up
ESR03EZPJ151	ROHM Semiconductor
BU33JA2MNVX-CTL	ROHM Semiconductor
STM32F429IGT6	STMicroelectronics
BP3621	ROHM Semiconductor
IPZ40N04S5L4R8ATMA1	Infineon Technologies
TPS63050YFFR	Texas Instruments

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