Japan's memory chip maker Elpida Memory Inc., Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) and Powertech Technology Inc. will join forces to develop semiconductor-related production technology, a Powertech official said Monday. The three parties are scheduled to sign an integrated circuit technology cooperation agreement Monday afternoon at UMC headquarters in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, the official said, but he declined to disclose other details about the deal. 'We will not release the details about the cooperation agreement until the agreement is signed this afternoon,' he said. The Commercial Times reported Monday the three companies will co-develop cutting edge 'through silicon via' (TSV) chip production technology, focusing on vertically stacked chips to occupy less space. The report said the three partners are expected to develop the technology for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and logic memory chips targeting the cell phone, gaming console and home appliance markets. UMC, the world's second-largest contract chip maker, also declined to comment on the report. Since 2007, UMC has worked with Elpida on chip technology cooperation. Powertech is a semiconductor packaging and testing service provider. Elpida President Yukio Sakamoto, UMC Chief Executive Officer Sun Shih-wei and Powertech Chairman Tsai Tu-kung are expected to attend the signing ceremony. 