LONDON — With help from lead partner and licensee NXP, ARM Holdings plc (Cambridge, England) has designed a very low gate-count ARM processor core suitable for use in microcontrollers aimed at ultra-low power applications. Chips are expected to ship from licensees before the end of 2009.
The processor core, previously codenamed Swift and now called Cortex-M0, looks set to be one more (last?) nail in the coffin of the 8-bit microcontroller as well as enabling ARM and its licensees to engage in applications mandated on energy efficiency, such as wireless sensor nodes and e-metering.
And with just 12,000 gates the Cortex-M0 core has been designed expressly for low power consumption and could find many applications — although ARM is by no means the first company to offer a low gate-count processor core.
The Cortex-M0, which has not yet been implemented in dedicated silicon, is behind the established Cortex-M3 core both in terms of performance and complexity. But that reduced complexity has the benefit of producing a low-cost and potentially very low-power implementation of the ARM 32-bit processor architecture.
The Cortex-M0 offers 32-bit performance in the footprint of a 16-bit processor, enabling 8-bit MCU developers to "skip" 16-bit devices and move directly to 32-bit, ARM claimed, but with the advantage of remaining compatible with the established Cortex-M3 and with the Cortex-M1, which is ARM's synthesizcable microcontroller core for use in FPGAs.
The low gate-count also allows the M0 to be implemented in what is essentially the digitization of analog or mixed-signal chips, the company said.
"We will supply M0-based components before the end of 2009," said Geoff Lees, general manager of the microcontroller division at chip company NXP BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands). NXP has only been in the market with Cortex-M3 microcontrollers since October 2008, nonetheless Lees has clearly has applications in mind for the M0 in the industrial, consumer and medical sectors.
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
Hot applications in 2010:
We've compiled a list of 10 technology applications you should watch for in 2010, ranging from e-book readers to 3-D TVs. We examine the features that make these apps so compelling as well unresolved issues.
Top 25 predictions for semis in 2010:
2010 is just beginning to unfold in the electronics industry. Looking into our crystal ball, we have released our own chip forecasts--and other predictions--for 2010.
Seven things to fix in 2010:
The editors of EE Times came up with their own informal list of things we hope engineers fix in 2010, spanning everything from nano-lithography to space travel. What do you want to see get done this year?
'09 moves that are shaping the future:
This was a brutal year, but the industry gets a nod for showing grace under fire. Here's our Top 10 guide to the coming year, illustrating what to expect in 2010.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
