NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, 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.
First NXP microcontrollers based on the Cortex-M3 processor
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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