Panasonic and Renesas Start Operation of New Development Line for Leading-Edge SoC Process Technologies at the Renesas Naka Site

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panasonic Corporation and Renesas Technology Corp. announced today that they will concentrate their joint development functions for leading-edge SoC process technologies at the Renesas Naka site (in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture) and will start operation of their 28 to 32 nm process development line installed at that site on October 1, 2009. The two companies, by concentrating their joint development functions at the Naka site with its 300 mm wafer line and providing a joint development structure, are developing 28 nm process technologies. They are targeting the start of mass production in the near future.

The two companies had agreed on joint development of next-generation SoC technologies in 1998, even before Renesas was formed, and have continued to develop semiconductor process technologies for the 90 nm, 65 nm, 45 nm, and 32 nm generations at the Renesas Kitaitami site (in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture). One result of this joint effort, which was achieved in October 2008, was the development of interconnect technology using both transistor technology that has a metal/high-k gate stack structure and ultralow-k materials for the 32 nm system SoC process and acquiring a firm target date for its application in mass production. Furthermore, in July 2009, this collaboration completed development of an SRAM cell using a metal/high-k gate stack structure for the 28 nm process. Now, based on these results, the two companies will start operation of that line to carry out joint development of full integration technology using 28 nm process manufacturing technologies in the 300 mm wafer development line newly installed at the Renesas Naka site.

In the development line at the Naka site, the two companies have installed new production equipment in addition to having transferred part of the development line equipment from the Renesas Kitaitami site. By carrying out this development in the wafer size that will actually be used in mass production, the two companies are aiming at achieving a smooth transition to mass production and reducing development costs and time. This will improve development and production efficiency.

The 28 to 32 nm SoC process technologies that were the result of these joint development efforts have been applied in SoCs for leading-edge mobile applications and digital appliances from both companies. These products are being mass produced at both companies' sites.

With this long-standing partnership that has fostered the accumulation of earlier technologies leading to the results announced today, both companies are aiming at continued efficient development of leading-edge technologies and the early application of those technologies.

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.77 trillion yen (US$78.4 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE:PC) stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net/.

About Renesas Technology Corp.

Renesas Technology Corp. is the world's No.1 supplier of microcontrollers and one of the world's leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV (Audio Visual) markets. It is also a leading provider of Power MOSFETs, Smart Card microcontrollers, RF-ICs, High Power Amplifiers, Mixed Signal ICs, System-on-Chip (SoC), System-in-Package (SiP) and more. Established in 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503), Renesas Technology achieved consolidated revenue of 702.7 billion JPY in FY2008 (end of March 2009). Renesas Technology is based in Tokyo, Japan and has a global network of manufacturing, design and sales operations in 16 countries with 25,000 employees worldwide. For further information, please visit http://www.renesas.com.