United Microelectronics Corporation
United Microelectronics Corporation is a Taiwanese company based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was founded as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Overview
UMC is best known for its semiconductor foundry business, manufacturing integrated circuits wafers for fabless semiconductor companies. In this role, UMC is ranked behind competitor TSMC. It has four 300 mm fabs, one in Taiwan, one in Singapore, one in China, and one in Japan.UMC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange as . UMC has 12 manufacturing facilities worldwide, employing approximately 19,500 people.
UMC is a significant supplier to the automotive industry.
History
- On May 22, 1980, UMC was spun off from the Industrial Technology Research Institute and was formally established as the first private integrated circuit company in Taiwan.
- 1983: TMC starts a joint research project with US-based Vitelic Inc|Vitelic].
- 1985
- * UMC was officially listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. It was the first listed semiconductor company in Taiwan. At that time, Morris Chang was its chairman.
- * UMC sets up a subsidiary, Unicorn Microelectronics Corporation, in Silicon Valley to improve access to technology, signing joint research agreements with Mosel and Quasel.
- 1995: UMC decided to transform from an IDM company with its own products to a professional pure-play foundry.
- 1996: Spun off its IC design units to establish MediaTek, Novatek, ITE Technology, Faraday Technology, AMIC Technology, and Davicom.
- 1999: Fab 12A 12-inch wafer fab in Tainan Science Park was officially established.
- 2000:
- * Listed on the New York Stock Exchange as Taiwan's second semiconductor company to do so.
- * Produces the first chips using copper process technology and the first 0.13 micron ICs in the semiconductor industry.
- 2004: 12-inch wafer fab in Singapore enters mass production.
- 2013: Fully acquires "Hejian Technology Wafer Fab" in Suzhou, China.
- 2015: USCXM 12-inch wafer fab located in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China was officially established.
- 2017: 28 nm mass production begins at USCXM in Xiamen, China.
- July 2017: UMC invested US$611 million to expand its Xiamen factory.
- 2019: Fully acquired Japan-based Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor.
- 2020: Reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a 2018 trade secrets case.
- 2021: Joins RE100 and pledges net zero emissions by 2025.
- 2021: UMC and Micron announced globally to withdraw their complaints against the other party, and the companies look forward to engaging in mutual business cooperation opportunities.
U.S. Indictment and guilty plea
In November 2021, UMC and Micron agreed to withdraw complaints against each other globally following a years-long legal dispute over intellectual property rights. UMC will make an undisclosed one-time payment to Micron Technology. Both parties also announced their intention to seek mutual business cooperation opportunities in the future.
In February 2024, US District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in San Francisco ruled that the US prosecutors failed to prove that Chinese firm, Fujian Jinhua had misappropriated trade secrets from Micron Technology Inc. Therefore, the Court found Jinhua not guilty.
Fab list
| Fab | Node | Location | Wafer diameter | Wafers per month |
| WKT | 450–350 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 150 mm | 31,000 |
| Fab 8A | 500–250 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 200 mm | 67,000 |
| Fab 8C | 350–110 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 200 mm | 37,000 |
| Fab 8D | 130–90 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 200 mm | 31,000 |
| Fab 8E | 500–180 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 200 mm | 37,000 |
| Fab 8F | 180–150 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 200 mm | 40,000 |
| Fab 8S | 180–110 nm | Hsinchu, Taiwan | 200 mm | 31,000 |
| Fab 8N | 500–110 nm | Suzhou, China | 200 mm | 76,000 |
| Fab 12A | 130–14 nm | Tainan, Taiwan | 300 mm | 87,000 |
| Fab 12i | 130–40 nm | Singapore | 300 mm | 53,000 |
| Fab 12X | 40–28 nm | Xiamen, China | 300 mm | 19,000 → |
| Fab 12M | 90–40 nm | Mie, Japan | 300 mm | 33,000 |