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TRADE NEWS: UMC Selects Agilent Technologies 93000 SOC Series Tester; World-Leading Semiconductor Foundry to Use 93000 for High-Speed Digital and Mixed-Signal Test

Business Wire, Sept 28, 2005

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that UMC (NYSE:UMC)(TSE:2303), a world-leading semiconductor foundry, has purchased an Agilent 93000 SOC Series tester for performing structural-based, high-speed digital and mixed-signal test. UMC will use the 93000 to test high-volume, complex SOCs for computational devices, PCs and game consoles. The 93000 series has the ability to scale and test a wide range of applications to help UMC lower its cost-of-test and accelerate its customers' time-to-market.

"The Agilent 93000 provides a mixed-signal, structural test solution compatible with our customers' high-end module cores," said Paul Chen, director of the Test and Package Engineering Service department at UMC. "We especially appreciate the 93000's scalable flexibility as the tool can be used across multiple applications. We are confident that the 93000 will not only meet our needs today working with a 90 nm wafer fabrication process, but will support our test requirements for next-generation devices."

"The proven performance of the 93000 and its ability to test a wide range of applications will help UMC meet the most advanced semiconductor application test challenges," said Pascal Ronde, vice president of Agilent's Automated Test Group. "We are very pleased that one of the world's top foundries has decided to standardize on the 93000 platform."

About the Agilent 93000 SOC Series

The Agilent 93000 SOC Series is the industry's fastest-growing, lowest-cost scalable platform architecture with more than 1,000 installed systems worldwide. The Agilent 93000 SOC Series is designed to meet both the demanding performance and cost challenges of SOC testing. Models are configured to span the widest range of applications that may require ultra-high-speed digital data rates, up to 10 Gb/s, and the broadest range of mixed-signal and RF capabilities. With this range of capabilities, the 93000 SOC Series is the first choice for subcontract manufacturers and the preference for high-volume manufacturing. More information, including details for recent introductions, is available at www.agilent.com/see/soctest.> 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 90nm copper, 0.13um copper, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC is also a leader in 300mm manufacturing; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i are both in volume production for a variety of customer products. UMC employs approximately 10,500 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.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

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