United Microelectronics Corporation Explained

United Microelectronics Corporation
Native Name:Chinese: 聯華電子
Type:Public
Traded As:
Founder:Robert Tsao
Location:Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu, Taiwan
Key People:Stan Hung, Chairman
SC Chien, Co-president
Jason Wang, Co-president
Num Employees: 19,577 (2020) [1]
Industry:Semiconductor Foundry
Revenue: billion[2] [3]
Revenue Year:2020
Operating Income: billion or  billion
Income Year:2020
Net Income: billion or  billion
Net Income Year:2020

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC;) 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 (ITRI).[4]

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 2303. UMC has 12 manufacturing facilities worldwide, employing approximately 19,500 people.

UMC is a significant supplier to the automotive industry.[5]

History

U.S. Indictment and guilty plea

The United States Department of Justice indicted UMC and Chinese firm Fujian Jinhua in 2018, alleging that they conspired to steal intellectual property from U.S. company Micron.[14] [15] In October 2020, UMC and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a plea agreement, with UMC pleading guilty to one count of receiving and possessing a stolen trade secret and agreeing to pay a fine of $60 million. UMC's plea and Plea Agreement resolved the 2018 trade secrets case brought against UMC by the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of the Plea Agreement, DOJ agreed to dismiss the original indictment against UMC, including allegations of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and conspiracy to steal multiple trade secrets from Micron Technology, Inc. (“Micron”), patent-related allegations, and alleged damages and penalties of US$400 million to $8.75 billion. The one trade secret at issue in the guilty plea and Plea Agreement related to older technology that had been in mass production worldwide for several years. DOJ also dismissed a related civil case against UMC. Aside from the fine amount, UMC has no further financial obligations to DOJ. The Plea Agreement also provides that UMC will cooperate with DOJ and will be subject to a three-year term of non-supervised probation.[11]

In November 2021, UMC and Micron agreed to withdraw complaints against each other globally following a years-long legal dispute over intellectual property rights (IP). 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.[16]

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.[17]

Fab list

Semiconductor fabrication plants[18] [19]
Fab Node Location Wafer diameter Wafers per month
WKT450–350 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 (He Jian) 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 (United Semiconductor)40–28 nm Xiamen, China 300 mm 19,000 →
Fab 12M (USJC, former Fujitsu) 90–40 nm Mie, Japan 300 mm 33,000

Processes

Revenue breakdown by geometry[20] [21]
Geometry 3Q21 3Q20 3Q19 3Q18
≤14 nm0% 0% 0% 5%
14 nm < x ≤ 28 nm19% 14% 12% 13%
28 nm < x ≤ 40 nm18% 23% 26% 22%
40 nm < x ≤ 65 nm19% 19% 14% 12%
65 nm < x ≤ 90 nm8% 10% 12% 10%
90 nm < x ≤ 0.13 μm12% 11% 11% 11%
0.13 μm < x ≤ 0.18 μm13% 13% 13% 14%
0.18 μm < x ≤ 0.35 μm8% 8% 9% 10%
≥0.5 μm3% 2% 3% 3%

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: United Microelectronics: Number of Employees 2006-2020. Macrotrends. 2021-03-11.
  2. Web site: Investors Overview - UMC. 2021-07-24. www.umc.com.
  3. Web site: 2021-04-29. umc-20f_20201231.htm. 2021-07-25. SEC.
  4. Web site: UMC Overview. https://web.archive.org/web/20050319213811/http://www.umc.com.tw/English/about/o_1.asp. 2005-03-19. 2010-06-29. UMC.
  5. Web site: Pei-chi . Liang . Chien-chung . Chang . Jung-feng . Chung . Huang . Frances . Major Taiwan chipmakers to assign capacity for car use . focustaiwan.tw . Focus Taiwan . 9 May 2021.
  6. Web site: UMC Lists on NYSE.
  7. Web site: UMC begins construction of 12-inch fab in Xiamen. 2020-11-10. DIGITIMES. en.
  8. Web site: UMC Receives Final Approval for 100% Acquisition of Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor. September 25, 2019. www.businesswire.com.
  9. Web site: UMC Receives Final Approval for 100% Acquisition of Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor. subscription. www.bloomberg.com. 2020-08-10. 2019-09-25.
  10. Web site: Message from the President | USJC：United Semiconductor Japan Co., Ltd.. 17 December 2018 .
  11. Web site: 2020-10-29. UMC and US Department of Justice reach Plea Agreement on Trade Secret Case. 2020-11-09. www.businesswire.com. en.
  12. Web site: 2021-06-01. UMC Pledges Net Zero Emissions by 2050.
  13. Web site: 2021-11-25. Micron, UMC to withdraw IP complaints against each other.
  14. Web site: PRC State-Owned Company, Taiwan Company, and Three Individuals Charged With Economic Espionage. November 1, 2018. www.justice.gov.
  15. News: 2019-01-10. China chipmaker Fujian Jinhua pleads not guilty to US theft charges. en. Reuters. 2020-10-31.
  16. Web site: Micron, UMC to withdraw IP complaints against each other.
  17. Web site: Chinese Chipmaker Cleared in US Criminal Trade Secrets Case.
  18. Web site: Q2 2020 Investor Conference Official Material.
  19. The number (e.g. 8 or 12) in the fab name reflects on the size of the wafer.
  20. Web site: UMC Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results . UMC.
  21. Web site: UMC Reports Third Quarter 2019 Results . UMC.

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