SMIC and RRAM Leader Crossbar Announce Strategic Partnership Agreement

SHANGHAI, March 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC", NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981), China's largest and most advanced semiconductor foundry and one of the world's largest foundries, and Crossbar, Inc., the RRAM (Resistive Random Access Memory) technology leader, jointly announced today that they had signed a strategic partnership agreement on non-volatile RRAM development and production.

As part of the partnership, SMIC and Crossbar have signed an agreement to provide RRAM blocks based on SMIC' 40nm CMOS manufacturing process. This will enable customers to integrate low latency, very high performance and low power embedded RRAM memory blocks into MCUs and SoCs, targeting the Internet of Things, wearable and tablet computers, consumer, industrial and automotive electronics markets.

"Crossbar continues to execute on schedule, and is now entering the licensing phase. We are honored to announce the collaboration with SMIC as a major stepping stone towards the commercialization of our RRAM technology," said George Minassian, CEO and co-founder of Crossbar. "Designers of highly integrated MCUs and SoCs need non-volatile memory technologies that are easy to integrate into their products and can be manufactured using standard CMOS logic processes. Crossbar RRAM technology and SMIC manufacturing expertise are creating a new era of unique memory architectures with tighter security, lower power consumption while providing more capacity and fast access time."

Crossbar RRAM's CMOS compatibility and scalability to small process geometries enables the integration of non-volatile memory blocks at the same process nodes of MCUs and SoCs. RRAM cells are integrated in standard CMOS processes between two metal lines of standard CMOS wafers. This enables extremely integrated solutions with on-chip non-volatile memory, processing cores, analog and RF combined on a single die.

"Based on SMIC's 40nm process node, we can offer high-capacity and low-power memory technology with unique security features for smartcards and various IoT devices to customers," said Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of SMIC. "We're delighted to have Crossbar as a new partner in our stable and reliable 40nm technology platform. We are able to support global customers with competitive technology and help them shorten time to market. We'll continue to attach great importance to long-term strategic cooperation with more world-leading companies to better serve the market and achieve win-win situation in the future."

Crossbar's RRAM provides a cost-effective integrated memory solution for embedded applications requiring low power, high performance non-volatile code execution and data storage.

About Crossbar, Inc.

Crossbar Inc. is the leader in RRAM technology, widely accepted as the front-runner to replace traditional Flash technology in future storage systems. Delivering terabyte storage on a postage stamp-sized chip, with power low enough for massive adoption throughout the Internet of Things, Crossbar RRAM is easy to tailor for a broad range of applications. From embedded memory on SOCs for wearables, to very high density SSDs for cloud data centers, Crossbar is ushering in a new era of storage innovation. For more information, visit Crossbar-Inc.com.

About SMIC

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC") (NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in mainland China. SMIC provides integrated circuit (IC) foundry and technology services at 0.35-micron to 28-nanometer. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, SMIC has a 300mm wafer fabrication facility (fab) and a 200mm mega-fab in Shanghai; a 300mm mega-fab and a second majority owned 300mm fab under development for advance nodes in Beijing; and 200mm fabs in Tianjin and Shenzhen. SMIC also has marketing and customer service offices in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Taiwan, and a representative office in Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.smics.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

(Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995)

This document contains, in addition to historical information, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on SMIC's current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events. SMIC uses words like "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project" and similar expressions to identify forward looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of SMIC's senior management and involve significant risks, both known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors that may cause SMIC's actual performance, financial condition or results of operations to be materially different from those suggested by the forward-looking statements including, among others, risks associated with cyclicality and market conditions in the semiconductor industry, intense competition, timely wafer acceptance by SMIC's customers, timely introduction of new technologies, SMIC's ability to ramp new products into volume, supply and demand for semiconductor foundry services, industry overcapacity, shortages in equipment, components and raw materials, availability of manufacturing capacity, financial stability in end markets and intensive intellectual property litigation in high tech industry.

In addition to the information contained in this document, you should also consider the information contained in our other filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 28, 2015, especially in the "Risk Factors" section and such other documents that we may file with the SEC or SEHK from time to time, including on Form 6-K. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on our future results, performance or achievements. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated or, if no date is stated, as of the date of this document.

Media Contacts:

Crossbar Media Contact:                                                                                       
Tanis Communications, Inc.                                                                                  
Nicole Conley
Tel: +1 650-422-3156                                                                           
Email: [email protected]     

SMIC Media Contact:
Jane Tang
Tel: +86-21-3861-0000 x10088
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation

Related Links

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