Hitachi/UMC foundry venture produces first chips in 300-mm fab

Hitachi/UMC foundry venture produces first chips in 300-mm fab
HITACHINAKA CITY, Japan -- Trecenti Technologies Inc., the joint silicon wafer foundry venture between Japan's Hitachi Ltd. and Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp., set a major milestone here today by announcing that it has produced the first chips in its 300-mm fab--roughly two months ahead of its original schedule.

Using an advanced 0.18-micron process technology, Trecenti claimed the facility has produced the world's first functional 4- and 8-Mbit SRAMs in the 300-mm fab.

"We have worked very hard to accomplish this milestone, and are extremely pleased to see the results of our efforts less than one year after Trecenti's establishment," said Toshio Nohara, president of Trecenti.

"With the successful completion of this pilot run, we are positioned to offer volume production capacity well ahead of the original scheduled roadmap," he added.

Established in March, Trecenti is a dedicated wafer foundry. Hitachi of Tokyo owns a 60% equity stake in the venture, while UMC of Hsinchu holds 40%. The capacity will be shared equally between both companies.

Volume production at Trecenti is expected to begin in March 2001.