XILINX BUILDS VIRTEX PRODUCTS ON 300 MM WAFERS.

Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX), a leader in programmable logic solutions, with UMC (NYSE: UMC) and Trecenti Technologies, a joint venture fabrication facility between UMC and Hitachi, have announced that Xilinx has built its first Virtex products on 300 mm silicon wafers. By taking advantage of the larger wafer sizes, Xilinx will be able to produce more cost- effective programmable logic devices. Trecenti is the pureplay foundry industry's first 300-mm enabled fab to deliver wafers.

Xilinx will also be using the 300 mm format to deliver its next generation high-density Platform FPGAs. Incorporating high speed I/O technology, DSP multipliers, and embedded processors, the 300-mm version of the Platform FPGAs integrate more than 200 million transistors per die and 37 billion per wafer. The Xilinx Platform FPGA initiative introduced a new era of programmable logic, extending the level of system integration into a broad application base using the Xilinx Virtex-II FPGA series.

"UMC has been making significant progress with its 300 mm enabled fabs, with the Trecenti facility being the first to produce wafers for our customers. In fact, we started developing wafers in pilot production in December 2000. We are also overseeing the development of two other 300 mm fabs, with one in Taiwan and the other in Singapore," said Jim Kupec, president of UMC USA. "We are enthusiastic that Xilinx is the first FPGA vendor to utilize 300 mm silicon and is seeing its FPGAs widely adopted in the industry."

"Our announcement today demonstrates an aggressive move to build our leading products on 300 mm wafers. In the next 12 months, the products produced at Trecenti could become a second source for our Virtex and Spartan series FPGAs, representing up to one-third of our product revenue," said Dennis Segers, senior vice president and general manager of Xilinx Advanced Products Group. "The combination of the leading-edge wafer technology, our high-density FPGAs, and the 300 mm wafer size is the right combination to deliver the most cost-effective quality products to our customers."

"Trecenti has devised a completely new methodology for single-wafer processing that employs full automation with high-speed transfers to realize the shortest possible cycle time. With these new processes in place, Trecenti is demonstrating the competitive advantages of its state-of-the-art technology," said Toshio Nohara, president of Trecenti Technologies Incorporated.

Trecenti is the world's first venture to fabricate wafers in a 300-mm wafer production facility. Trecenti was established on March 15, 2000 as a dedicated 300-mm wafer foundry.

About UMC

UMC, a world leading semiconductor foundry, operates seven wafer fabs in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science Park. UMC's Japanese subsidiary, Nippon Foundry Inc., has one fab in Japan and UMC's joint venture with Hitachi, Trecenti Technologies, began pilot production in its 300mm fab in Japan in 2000. UMC's 300mm facility in Taiwan's Tainan Science Park is scheduled for pilot production in July 2001, and the foundry has also announced plans for a third 300mm fab to be built in Singapore. UMC is a leader in foundry technology, with facilities that reached an annual output of more than 2.4 million eight-inch equivalent wafers in 2000 and produced more wafers in 0.18-micron and smaller technologies than any other foundry that year. UMC's joint development program with IBM and Infineon Technologies introduced the WorldLogic(r) standard 0.13-micron technology in 2000. UMC serves customers around the world through sales and marketing offices located in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.

About Xilinx

Xilinx is the leading supplier of complete programmable logic solutions, including advanced integrated circuits, software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as cores, and unparalleled field engineering support. Founded in 1984 and headquarters in San Jose, Calif., Xilinx invented field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and fulfills more than half of the world demand for these devices today. Xilinx solutions enable customers to significantly reduce the time required to develop products for the computer, peripheral, telecommunication, networking, industrial control, instrumentation, aerospace, defense, and consumer markets.

For more information, visit http://www.xilinx.com or call 650-917-1488.