Sure Fred, why not? Breakfast is on me!
I saw that news release yesterday, with regards to IBM terminating a memory chip venture with Toshiba. I thought it was interesting.
Here is one that I missed...
July 01, 1999 08:17
Virtual Silicon Rolls Out 0.25/0.18-micron Embedded Flash/EEPROM Technology Strategy: Aligns With UMC Group On Development
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1999--
Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation Contributes to Development as Early Adopter
Virtual Silicon Technology, Inc., announced a five-year strategic agreement with UMC Group to jointly develop and market an advanced non-volatile memory (NVM) technology.
This technology, called Simple2(TM), allows systems-on-chip (SOC) designers to embed flash and EEPROM in UMC's baseline 0.25-micron and 0.18-micron CMOS logic manufacturing processes.
Virtual Silicon's Simple2(TM) offering combines patented technology from Dr. John Caywood, a pioneer in NVM technology, and development guidance from Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, a key supplier of EPROM and EEPROM non-volatile memory products.
Virtual Silicon's Simple2, when combined with UMC Group's standard logic process, targets a wide range of markets such as portable computing, wireless communications, and applications requiring low density, cost-effective program storage, including smart cards, re-programmable logic and programmable-IP blocks.
The agreement provides for joint development of a new NVM fabrication process for both 0.25-micron and 0.18-micron, as well as software development that will result in the industry's first user-accessible flash compilers.
"UMC Group is committed to offering leadership solutions to our SOC customers," said Dr. Jim Ballingall, vice president of marketing at UMC Group. "This technology agreement provides our customers with another cost-effective, reliable, and flexible embedded NVM alternative. We are impressed with the team and the technology that Virtual Silicon has assembled and look forward to working with them to further enable SOC design."
"We are aggressively expanding our technology strategy to offer a comprehensive line of embedded semiconductor technologies to customers involved in the design and manufacturing of SOC," said Taylor Scanlon, chief executive officer at Virtual Silicon. Fairchild's and UMC Group's early participation in this development insures that the resulting solution meets real world requirements benefiting our mutual customers."
"The technical expertise in process technology and compiler design assembled at Virtual Silicon is very impressive," said Dr. Bob Roohparvar, director of design for Fairchild's Memory Products Group. "We are confident in UMC Group's advanced manufacturing processes and commitment to customer service, and are excited about contributing our many years of expertise in EEPROM product development to this joint effort."
Virtual Silicon's Flash and EEPROM Technology
Virtual Silicon's Flash and EEPROM offerings are based upon unique NVM techniques patented by John Caywood and licensed through Virtual Silicon. Caywood has been an independent consultant in the fields of sub-micron NVM and mixed-signal technologies since 1992. He was previously a senior technology executive for companies including Paradigm Technology, Xicor, and Intel.
He holds multiple patents on NVM process and device technology and reliability.
This technology will be lower cost and easier to integrate with standard logic because it requires fewer additional masking steps, requires a single external voltage supply, and requires less overhead circuitry. It has been demonstrated in production on 0.35-micron and larger geometry processes. These test chips showed it to be highly reliable and insensitive to disturbs providing high endurance.
Simple implementation makes it ideal for rapid migration to finer process geometries like 0.18-micron and below.
Virtual Silicon appoints new executive to head development
Virtual Silicon today also announced the appointment Mr. Greg Spadea to head the joint development effort (see related release June 30, 1999). Mr. Spadea joins Virtual Silicon as vice president of technology reporting to Mike Kliment, chief operating officer and co-founder of Virtual Silicon.
Mr. Spadea has over twenty-five years of experience heading the process development staffs of leading semiconductor companies like Alcatel Mietec, Microchip, and VLSI Technology. Mr. Spadea has been an independent consultant for the past two years.
About Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation
Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation is making history as the world's only global company solely focused on designing, manufacturing and marketing high performance semiconductors for multiple end market uses. Fairchild's multi-market components are used in computer, telecommunications, automotive, consumer and industrial applications.
Fairchild is filling the gap in the global supply of building block semiconductors. Supplying logic, analog, mixed signal, non-volatile memory and discrete power and signal technologies solutions, Fairchild is fully committed to products other companies give only part time attention. The company is headquartered in South Portland, Maine, USA, with 7,800 employees worldwide.
Additional manufacturing facilities are located in California, Utah, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, with regional sales offices throughout the world.
Fairchild's Non-Volatile Memory Products
Fairchild is a key supplier of EPROM and EEPROM non-volatile memory products and offers innovative application specific standard product (ASSP) solutions focusing on personal systems, communications and automotive applications. Fairchild's broad portfolio of serial EEPROM products supports all densities and interface standards.
By integrating EEPROM, Logic and Analog, Fairchild creates unique ASSP market solutions. New ASSP solutions include a family of controller chips for Universal Serial Bus (USB) peripherals, and the 8-bit Microcontroller family (ACEx(TM)) for low power and secure applications.
These unique ASSP solutions feature innovative architectures allowing end use customization and easy adoption. The company's website address is www.fairchildsemi.com.
About UMC Group
UMC Group is a world leading semiconductor foundry group consisting of United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), United Semiconductor Corp. (USC), United Integrated Circuits Corp. (UICC), United Silicon, Inc. (USIC), UTEK Semiconductor Corp. (UTEK), and the first dedicated foundry in Japan, Nippon Foundry Inc. (NFI).
The group leads the dedicated foundry industry in value-added design support with its Gold IP(TM) program. In 1998, UMC Group's L250 (0.25m) and L220 (0.22m) process technologies set the foundry industry benchmark for production volumes, capacity and yields in very deep sub-micron technology. In 1999, UMC Group will have production-ready 0.18u (L180) and copper-interconnect technology.
The UMC Group Silicon Shuttle(SM) test-chip program enables library vendors, IP vendors and foundry customers to verify their designs in silicon at low or no cost. UMC Group companies are headquartered in Taiwan, with marketing and customer support offices located in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands.
UMC Group (U.S.A.) offices are located at 788 Palomar Avenue, Sunnyvale, Calif. 94086, tel. 408/733-8881, fax 408/733-8090. The company's website address is www.umcgroup.com.
About Virtual Silicon Technology
Virtual Silicon Technology is a leading supplier of embedded semiconductor technology to manufacturers and designers of complex systems-on-chip. They provide process-intensive embedded components including standard cell libraries, I/Os, SRAM compilers, and embedded Flash and EEPROM solutions.
The company provides application-specific, process-specific, and foundry-portable versions of its Silicon Ready(TM) libraries and "hard" IP to semiconductor manufacturers and foundries, ASSP designers, and systems developers who demand the highest quality, maximum performance, and optimum densities for their semiconductor innovations.
For more information on Virtual Silicon Technology and its products, please direct customer inquiries to Mahesh Tirupattur at 408/548-2726, email address: mahesh@virtual-silicon.com or go to www.virtual-silicon.com.
Note to Editors: Simple2, The Heart of Great Silicon, Silicon Ready, and Diplomat are trademarks of Virtual Silicon Technology, Inc. Gold IP is a trademark of UMC Group, and Silicon Shuttle is a service mark of UMC Group. ACEx is a trademark of Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation.
Note this strategic agreement was announced at the 1999 Design Automation Conference (DAC99)
CONTACT: Virtual Silicon Technology
Taylor Scanlon, 408/548-2756
scanlon@virtual-silicon.com
or
Karen Tyrrell
VitalCom PR, 650/637-8212
karen@vitalcompr.com
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