SiGlaz's Intelligent Defect Analysis for Spatial Signature Analysis (SSA) Adopted by UMC - Ease of deployment and improved yield noted as key benefits

    /24-7PressRelease/ - SANTA CLARA, CA, June 26, 2006 - SiGlaz, a world leader in defect spatial signature analysis (SSA) software, today announced that its Intelligent Defect Analysis (IDA) software to improve defect learning and root cause analysis has been deployed by UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303), a leading global semiconductor foundry.

Defect spatial signatures may result from process excursions or from failures in process equipment. The large volumes of inspection data generated by advanced semiconductor fabs make it virtually impossible to manually review all of the data in an efficient manner. SiGlaz IDA software automatically analyzes the spatial distribution of defects on the wafer and notifies the user when it recognizes a signature. Early identification of a process excursion can translate to yield improvement and cost reduction.

"The SiGlaz IDA software has integrated easily into our production environment and is proving to be a useful tool," said Mr. Sean Lee, Manager for UMC Fab 8D. "As SiGlaz's software is designed to notify engineering personnel shortly after a problem occurs, IDA can reduce the time required to address any potential issues and in turn help increase productivity and yield."

SiGlaz IDA software may be used to identify many types of spatial signatures, such as scratches (curved or linear), rings and blobs on single wafers. Multiple wafers levels may be stacked to enhance faint signatures; multiple levels may also be analyzed for layer-to-layer repeaters.

"UMC provides a unique environment for identifying signatures because of the large number of device types and great varieties of processes that flow through their facility," said SiGlaz President Victor Luu. "We have worked closely with them to qualify our software tools for use in production. We're very pleased with the role our product plays in UMC's yield optimization strategy, and for their vote of confidence to deploy our product."

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 future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, 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.

About UMC
UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers cutting-edge foundry technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SoC) designs, including volume production 90nm, industry-leading 65nm, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC's 10 wafer manufacturing facilities include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. The company employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at [url]http://www.umc.com[url]

About siGlaz

SiGlaz is a developer of image analysis and spatial intelligence software for process monitoring and advanced process control. SiGlaz Intelligent Defect Analysis software is comprised of three modules: Defect Signature Analyzer (DSA), which allows the defect engineer to develop the methodology to analyze defect signatures in KLA results files; Automation Workbench (AWB), which enables the engineer to generate an analysis recipe and to automatically monitor and analyze results files in production; and Intelligent Reporting System, which allows the user to analyze long term defect signature trends and to generate customized reports.

# # #