UMC Launches W2W 3D IC Project with Partners, Targeting Growth in Edge AI
October 31 2023 - 2:41AM
Business Wire
Winbond, Faraday, ASE, and Cadence comprise
project members to provide a one-stop platform for customers’
stacked silicon needs
United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303)
(“UMC”), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced it
has initiated the W2W (wafer-to-wafer) 3D IC project in
collaboration with partners Winbond, Faraday, ASE, and Cadence to
help customers accelerate production of their 3D products. The
project offers an end-to-end solution for integrating memory and
processor with silicon stacking technology, catering to the rising
demand for efficient computing at the device level as artificial
intelligence expands from cloud to the edge.
The W2W 3D IC project with partner collaboration targets edge AI
applications – such as home and industrial IoT, security, and smart
infrastructure – requiring mid-to-high range computing power,
extensive and customizable memory modules, and relatively low power
consumption. The platform is expected to be ready in 2024 following
the completion of system-level verification, ensuring a seamless
process for customers. It will resolve various heterogeneous
integration challenges including alignment of wafer stacking rules
between logic and memory fabs, effective design flow for vertical
wafer integration, and a proven package and testing path.
Each member brings their 3D IC expertise to the project:
UMC - CMOS wafer manufacturing and wafer-to-wafer hybrid
bonding technology
Winbond - Introduce Customized Ultra-Bandwidth Elements
(CUBE) architecture for powerful edge AI devices, enabling seamless
deployment across various platforms and interfaces
Faraday - Comprehensive turnkey services for 3D advanced
packaging, as well as memory IP and ASIC chiplets design
services
ASE - Die sawing, packaging, and testing services
Cadence - Wafer-to-wafer design flow, extraction with
through-silicon vias (TSVs), and sign-off certification
“Through this cross-supply-chain vertically integrated project,
we are excited to work with industry leaders to enable customers to
leverage our advanced hybrid bonding W2W technology, to enjoy the
inherent performance gain, form factor reduction, and cost benefits
of 3D IC,” said G C Hung, Vice President of the Result Delivery
Office and Research Development at UMC. “Heterogeneous integration
will continue to push the boundaries of semiconductor innovation in
the More-than-Moore era, and UMC looks forward to contributing our
robust CMOS wafer manufacturing capabilities together with advanced
packaging solution to the development of a complete ecosystem.”
“As AI continues to move beyond data centers to the edge, edge
devices will require higher memory bandwidth in order to handle the
increase in data workloads,” said Hsiang-Yun Fan, DRAM Vice
President of Winbond. “Winbond is honored to be the memory supplier
for this project with our Customized Ultra-Bandwidth Elements
(CUBE), which will enable customers to incorporate customized DRAM
into their 3D packages for optimal edge AI performance.”
“Faraday is proud to be a founding member of the 3D IC project,”
said Flash Lin, COO of Faraday. “We are already working closely
with UMC and best-in-class OSAT suppliers for our 2.5D/3D advanced
packaging service, and this project is an important extension of
that to empower customers in harnessing the endless potential of
chip integration.”
“As part of a dynamic ecosystem, ASE is committed to
collaborating with industry partners in order to empower our
customers to optimize efficiencies in their semiconductor design
and manufacturing process,” said Dr. C.P. Hung, Vice President of
R&D, ASE. “This project helps us collectively to improve
customer time-to-market and sustain profitable growth through the
integration technologies developed to accomplish application
excellence in the AI era.”
“With the continued proliferation of edge AI applications, 3D IC
design is becoming increasingly crucial for our customers. As the
only EDA partner in this new project, we’re working closely with
Faraday and UMC to enable 3D IC designs with the Cadence Integrity
3D-IC Platform. We are committed to enabling faster time-to-market
designs for our customers,” said Don Chan, Vice President, R&D
in the Digital & Signoff Group at Cadence.
About UMC
UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor
foundry company. The company provides high quality IC fabrication
services, focusing on logic and various specialty technologies to
serve all major sectors of the electronics industry. UMC’s
comprehensive IC processing technologies and manufacturing
solutions include Logic/Mixed-Signal, embedded High-Voltage,
embedded Non-Volatile-Memory, RFSOI and BCD etc. Most of UMC's
12-in & 8-in fabs with its core R&D are located in Taiwan,
with additional ones throughout Asia. UMC has total 12 fabs in
production with combined capacity more than 880,000 wafers per
month (8-in equivalent), and all of them are certified with IATF
16949 automotive quality standard. UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu,
Taiwan, plus local offices in United States, Europe, China, Japan,
Korea & Singapore, with worldwide total 20,000 employees. For
more information, please visit: https://www.umc.com.
Note from UMC 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 introduction of new services and
technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity,
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 demand for products from UMC; and
technological and development risks. Further information regarding
these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC does not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, except as required
under applicable law.
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Media UMC Corporate Communications
Lan Fu Tsau 886-3-578-2258 x31083 lan_fu_tsau@umc.com
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