DRAM manufacturer elpida Memory and semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) have announced they will jointly pursue semiconductor foundry opportunities in Japan.

Under this agreement, Elpida will provide its 300mm wafer manufacturing capacity while UMC will contribute the IP support and logic technologies. The joint effort will commence at Elpida's 300mm fab in Hiroshima using advanced technologies and applications, including system on chip.

The alliance announced extends the joint development program that the two companies announced in October 2007 for copper/low-k, DRAM, and phase-change random access memory (PRAM) technologies.

The companies see greater demand for foundry services because more chip companies are adopting "fab-lite strategies," terminating in-house process technology development and curtailing or eliminating capital intensive manufacturing activities.