NXP Semiconductors and ARM Expands Strategic Relationship

(Business News & Technology News, 12 Feb 2008)

NXP Semiconductors and ARM have expanded their strategic relationship with a new licensing agreement, including the high-performance, low-power ARM Cortex-M3 processor, as well as other ARM technology. NXP will introduce a new family of microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M3 processor starting in 2008, further expanding its broad portfolio of 56 ARM7 and ARM9 family-based MCUs.

As part of the agreement, NXP will also have access to all ARM Cortex family processors, including the recently announced Cortex-A9 MPCore multicore processor; the ARM Mali family of graphics processing units (GPUs); CoreSight on-chip debug and trace technology; and a full suite of ARM physical IP for the development of future solutions with minimized power consumption.

"The strategic agreement between NXP and ARM underscores a shared vision of how 32-bit processors are fundamentally changing advanced digital products ¨C from mobile phones, portable media players, TVs and set-top boxes, to identification applications, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices," said Rene Penning de Vries, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NXP Semiconductors. "As we expand our collaboration with ARM, we will continue to focus on innovations that deliver solutions supported by a strong ecosystem of industry partners."

Starting in 2008, NXP plans to release several new microcontroller series based on the ARM Cortex-M3 processor. The new NXP MCUs will target a wide range of applications including consumer, industrial, medical and automotive systems, with a Memory Accelerator Module (MAM) featuring NXP's embedded high-speed Flash memory design, as well as support for Ethernet and other communications peripherals such as USB and CAN.

The ARM Cortex-M3 processor with its high system performance, exceptional interrupt handling, low-cost architecture and extensive tools support is an ideal platform on which to develop deeply embedded, low-power applications at a competitive price point. The NXP microcontroller family based on the Cortex-M3 processor will be pin-compatible with, and offered in addition to its ARM7 and ARM9 family-based microcontrollers. Further, the new microcontrollers from NXP will be supported by a strong ecosystem of tools providers such as Keil, Embedded Artists, and many others.

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