Virtual Silicon and UMC Group Collaborate on NVM Technology

Virtual Silicon Technology, Inc.(Sunnyvale, CA) and UMC Group are teaming up to develop and market Simple2, an advanced non-volatile memory (NVM) technology.

The technology lets 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. It is a combination of technology from Dr. John Caywood and development guidance from Fairchild Semiconductor Corp.

The technology, in conjunction with UMC's standard logic process, is applicable in a wide range of markets, including portable computing and wireless communications. It features low-density program storage with 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 user-accessible flash compilers.

In other company news, Greg Spadea joined Virtual Silicon as vice president of technology. He has held similar positions at Alcatel, Mietec, Microchip, and VLSI Technology. He will report to Mike Kliment, COO and co-founder of the company.

UMC Group consists 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).

Virtual Silicon Technology supplies 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.