UMC's 130nm CMOS Process Enables Trident's Breakthrough Performance-Per-Watt DX8.1 Graphics Processor for Notebooks.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

WinHEC

HSINCHU, Taiwan/SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2002

Desktop Performance for Notebooks At Less than Three Watts (max.)

Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), and UMC (NYSE: UMC) today announced that Trident is now sampling the XP4(TM), the industry's first 3D graphics processor fabricated using UMC's advanced 130nm (0.13um) CMOS process technology. The XP4 fully implements the DirectX 8.1 graphics standard from Microsoft and delivers 1 billion pixels/sec performance while consuming less than three watts (max). The breakthrough performance-per-watt is more than twice that of all other competitors.

The XP4 uses only 30 million transistors, which is less than half the number of transistors of the nearest desktop equivalent in functionality and performance. UMC's leading edge 130nm process allows the XP4 to benefit from three significant technical advances:

-- Faster transistors that enable higher clock rate, corresponding to higher
performance. XP4 engine clock reaches 250MHz and DDR memory clock reaches
666MHz, both of which are the industry's highest clock rate for notebooks with
DX8.1 capability.

-- Smaller device geometry that produces smaller chip sizes and results in
lower production cost.

-- Lower operating voltage which causes much less power dissipation. A voltage
reduction from 1.8 volts (in 180nm process) to 1.2 volts (in 130nm process) can
reduce the power dissipation to less than 50%.

"We are very pleased with UMC's 130nm process as it represents the best in CMOS process technology and is the most competitive in production cost," said J.H. Chang, senior vice president of engineering for Trident. "XP4 product leadership with respect to performance, feature set, power and cost would not have been made possible without such an advanced process technology and excellent technical support from UMC."

UMC's 130nm technology platform features up to 8 copper interconnect layers and low-k dielectric insulating material to enable the high-performance characteristics of the XP4. A wide range of technology options is available for the process including high-density SRAM.

Fu Tai Liou, chief officer of worldwide sales and marketing for UMC said, "We are pleased to be working with Trident to help them meet the growing market demand for high-performance and low-power graphics solutions for notebook computing. Trident's expertise in the graphics area combined with UMC's advanced 130nm technology have resulted in the industry's highest performance DX8.1 graphics chip with the lowest power consumption to effectively address this market segment."

The XP4 samples are available now for evaluation and are priced at $39.95 in large quantities.

About Trident Microsystems, Inc.

Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), based in Sunnyvale, California, designs, develops and markets digital media for the masses in the form of graphics controllers and multimedia integrated circuits for desktop and portable computing applications. Trident's products are sold through a network of OEMs, original design manufacturers (ODMs) and system integrators worldwide. Please visit www.tridentmicro.com for more information.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TSE: 2303) is a world-leading semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers the cutting-edge foundry technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SOC) designs, including 0.13-micron copper/low k, embedded DRAM, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. In addition, UMC is a leader in 300mm manufacturing with three strategically located 300mm fabs to serve our global customer base: Fab 12A in Taiwan, UMCi in Singapore (completion in 2002), and AU Pte. Ltd., a joint venture facility with AMD also located in Singapore (production in 2005). UMC employs over 8,500 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.