Fujitsu Announces Fast-Response DC/DC Converter IC for Consumer Electronics Nov 16, 2009
Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited (FML) is a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) manufacturer that provides highly reliable, optimal solutions to meet the varying needs of its customers, through LSI offerings including ASIC/COT, ASSP and power management ICs, and flash microcontrollers. Along with building on its wide-range expertise focusing on imaging, wireless, and security LSI applications, FML also pursues initiatives for power efficiency and undertakes environmentally-conscious... (JCN Network, Japan)
TI, Fullpower team for mobile motion sensing Nov 12, 2009
TI said it plans to combine Fullpower's MotionX technology with TI's MSP430 microcontrollers (MCUs) to create a hardware-software combination that enables developers to differentiate portable devices such as smart phones, sports equipment, gaming equipment and bluetooth headsets with motion sensing technology as well as extended battery life. Fullpower first demonstrated the MotionX-Recognition Engine performing with MSP430 in May 2009. (EETimes)
China selects Infineon chips for passports Nov 12, 2009
LONDON Infineon Technologies AG (Munich, Germany) has started delivering SLE 66CLX800PE security microcontrollers for use in Chinese passports. In terms of volume this is one of the world's two largest electronic passport projects, Infineon said. (EETimes)
Microchip CEO predicts 2010 sales boom Nov 7, 2009
Microchip, which makes microcontrollers and analog semiconductors for automobiles, industrial equipment, household appliances and other products, said it expects earnings to continue to improve in the quarters ahead ... JoAnne Feeney, a stock analyst with FTN Equity Capital Markets Corp., upgraded her rating of Microchip on Thursday to "buy" from "neutral," citing the company's strong outlook for the current fiscal quarter and signs that its 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers are gaining ground... (AZCentral -- Business)
EE Times' Top 10 women in microelectronics Nov 6, 2009
Late 2002, Au was named president and CEO of Triscend Corp., a fabless semiconductor company developing field-configurable System-on-Chip (CSoC) devices and customizable microcontrollers. Au joined Triscend from ARM where as president of ARM Inc. she helped build its network of licensees for the company's core processor technology and established ARM's market position as 'The Architecture for the Digital World. (EETimes)
Infineon and TSMC Extend Technology And Production Partnership Agreement; Will Jointly Develop 65nm Embedded Flash Process Technology For Automotive and Chip Card Applications Nov 5, 2009
We trust in TSMC to master the demanding obligations of Infineon as an innovative and reliable source providing long-term and stable supply of security microcontrollers. Indicating our firm and ongoing commitment to highest security standards, it is understood that TSMC will be audited under the most stringent international security specifications as being provided by Infineon. (Canada Newswire)
MIPS debuts new cores, instruction set Nov 3, 2009
The products aim to expand the company's relatively small presence in 32-bit microcontrollers and leverage its strength in wired consumer systems to attack sockets in wireless devices. MIPS disclosed details of a new M14K core, an upgrade of its M4K core for microcontrollers and a new M14Kc core, an upgrade of its M4KE used in more sophisticated consumer systems. (EETimes)
ARM gains ground in non-mobile applications Oct 28, 2009
The company sold 28 processor licenses in Q3, with non-mobile devices being a major driver: 15 out of these 28 licenses were signed for a broad range of applications such as automotive, digital TV, networking, storage and microcontrollers. The remaining licenses were intended for use in mobile devices such as smartphones or mobile computers. (EETimes)
Bozotti details ST's outlook for Q4 Oct 24, 2009
Bozotti declared: "We believe that the final three months of the year have been shaping up to be a stronger-than-seasonal quarter for ST. Based on our backlog and visibility, we expect IMS Industrial and Multisegment Sector (IMS) business unit to grow faster than the company average boosted by strong growth in microcontrollers, smartcards, and across all families in advanced analog, power and MEMS.". Moving to the ACCI (Automotive, Consumer, Computer and Telecom Infrastructure) product segment,... (EETimes)
ARM stretches out with A5 core, graphics, FPGAs Oct 23, 2009
Separately, ARM will use the event to bolster its nascent position in graphics, extend its progress in microcontrollers and take a step in a new direction with FPGAs. But the main star of the ARM 2009 show is the A5, aka Sparrow, a new entry-level member of the Cortex family. (EETimes)
ARM CTO: power surge could create 'dark silicon' Oct 23, 2009
"I think we have microcontrollers covered so now I want to move PSoC in a new direction," said T.J. Rodgers, chief executive of Cypress in a keynote. "The patent on the FPGA has expired, so there's nothing preventing us from putting some of that in these chips in the future," he added. (EETimes)
Atmel's AVR Microcontrollers Selected by iBiquity Digital Corporation for HD Radio Reference Design Platforms Oct 16, 2009
Atmel Corporation is a global leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, and complementary products such as capacitive touch sensing ICs, ASICs, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete microcontroller based system solutions focused on consumer, industrial, automotive, security, communications computing markets. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Infineon invests $15 million in Dresden wafer fab Oct 9, 2009
The move is consistent with Infineon's strategy to go fabless for geometries of 65 nm and less since in Dresden it produces microcontrollers for larger geometries, the spokesperson said. Related articles. (EETimes)
Panasonic and Renesas Start Operation of New Development Line for Leading-Edge SoC Process Technologies at the Renesas Naka Site Sep 30, 2009
Renesas Technology Corp. is the world's No.1 supplier of microcontrollers and one of the world's leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV (Audio Visual) markets. It is also a leading provider of Power MOSFETs, Smart Card microcontrollers, RF-ICs, High Power Amplifiers, Mixed Signal ICs, System-on-Chip (SoC), System-in-Package (SiP) and more. (JCN Network, Japan)
India Passports to Go Digital Next Year Sep 22, 2009
Infineon is the supplier of contactless security microcontrollers (MCU) for the e-passport initiative. Kathiresan explained that e-passports support a combination of electronic and optical including watermark, optically variable device and hologram. (BusinessWeek)
Microchip rolls 'Cash for Clunkers' MCU program Sep 17, 2009
Microchip's program allows embedded designers to exchange selected microcontrollers and associated tools from its rivals for a rebate as high as 30 percent--up to a $120 savings. Customers can exchange their products for selected devices from Microchip. (EETimes)
* Elan shares rally as lawsuit ends Sep 16, 2009
A judge from Hsinchu District Court ruled that Elan did not infringe Microchips patent relating to the manufacturing of 8-bit microcontrollers as the Chandler, Arizona-based company had claimed ... With the dispute over, Elan said it planned to resume supplying its 8-bit microcontrollers to customers with tailored new designs, which would help boost the companys sales, a statement said ... Microcontrollers used to be the biggest sale driver for Elan, headquartered in Hsinchu. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Microchip raises quarterly forecast Sep 9, 2009
"We are experiencing strong demand for all of our microcontroller and analog product families in the quarter with out 16-bit microcontrollers providing the highest sequential growth,'' said Steve Sanghi, Microchip's President and CEO, in a statement. ''Geographically, we are seeing strong demand in Asia and the Americas. Europe is unseasonably strong with revenue in the summer quarter being sequentially up for the first time in several years,'' he said. ''We also experienced the strongest August... (EETimes)
Be prepared for anything with these kits Sep 1, 2009
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 Microcontrollers (part # DM180021) , which contains all of the components, documentation, schematics, debugging and programming capabilities needed to evaluate the high-performance PIC18 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) family in low-power USB and touch-sensing applications ... Hardware debugging and programming come integrated with the MPLAB... (Fresno Bee -- Lifestyle)
Gartner ups semi market expectations Aug 28, 2009
And the micro component sector which comprises microprocessors, microcontrollers and DSPs is still expected to decline by 19. 2 percent with a total of $39. (EETimes)
Toshiba to Launch World's First 64GB SDXC Card Aug 4, 2009
A committed electronic components leader, Toshiba designs and manufactures high-quality flash memory-based storage solutions, discrete devices, displays, advanced materials, medical tubes, custom SoCs/ASICs, digital multimedia and imaging products, microcontrollers and wireless components that make possible today's leading cell phones, MP3 players, cameras, medical devices, automotive electronics and more. Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. is an independent operating company owned by... (PR Newswire)
Indexes End Week, Month With Gains Aug 2, 2009
MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY, a maker of microcontrollers, cut its Q1 outlook to 39 cents ex items, still above views of 37 cents, due to weakness in Europe and. 06/19/2007 03:00 AM ET. (Investors Business Daily)
Tower Semiconductor to Manufacture Next-Generation MRAM From Crocus Technology Jun 18, 2009
The integration into Tower's copper 130nm logic process sets the stage for bringing to market leading edge single chip memory products as well as for embedding MRAM into complex SOCs for market segments such as microcontrollers , automotive and communications. "Although the MRAM market was in its commercial infancy in 2008, Crocus' TAS MRAM can easily capture a sizable portion of the $700 million NOR (<256Mbit) cellular and networking market by 2011, among others," claims Alan Niebel, CEO at... (PR Newswire)
SMIC and CHINGIS Announce Availability of 0.18um Embedded Flash Process Technology and IP Portfolio Jun 2, 2009
18um embedded flash process is an attractive option for customers involved in a wide range of applications, such as microcontrollers, USB keys, smartcards, and devices for the fast-growing automotive market ... Chingis holds more than 42 patents worldwide, for computing, networking, systems-on-a-chip (SoC), microprocessors, microcontrollers, telecommunications, and embedded applications. (PR Newswire)
Toward Cheap Underwater Sensor Nets Jun 1, 2009
With this in mind, the researchers looked at three different hardware platforms: digital signal processors, microcontrollers, and reconfigurable hardware. Their tests described in the paper presented at the IEEE Workshop in Rome show that the reconfigurable hardware platform provides the best low-energy implementation for the particular underwater communications algorithm they implemented. (Science Daily)
Opinion: TI is scrambling in MCUs May 28, 2009
That's why I think Texas Instruments Inc. is still unhappy with its position in microcontrollers (MCUs) and needs to do more to expand its wings in the arena ... Microcontrollers for embedded applications have been a proven business model in terms of profitability, as evidenced by Microchip's success in the 8-bit market in the last decade. (EETimes)
Software programmers get physical May 18, 2009
A week earlier, a SkillShare weekend workshop, also hosted at MIT, included a session on "DIY electronics with microcontrollers." ... Sempere had wired the grass with sound chips, microcontrollers, and sensors he made from modified Dance Dance Revolution mats. (Boston Globe)
ARM welcomes TI's acquisition of Luminary May 16, 2009
"Luminary Micro was the first licensee of the innovative Cortex-M3 processor and has to date introduced a wide range of Cortex-M3 microcontrollers winning many significant designs. The acquisition by TI is a clear demonstration of the growing momentum behind the Cortex-M3 processor in the MCU market and the strides that Luminary has made," Inglis said in a statement. Reinhard Keil, director of MCU tools at ARM, added: " The MCU market is consolidating around standards, and it is clear that the... (EETimes)
Freescale to rely on nanocrystalline flash May 9, 2009
But nitrides could not stand the high temperatures required by the automotive applications for which many of Freescale's microcontrollers are used. Nanocrystalline floating gates, on the other hand, are naturally immune to high temperatures just as they are naturally immune to defects. (EETimes)
ARM sees Q1 sales, profits drop Apr 30, 2009
17 processor licenses were signed in Q1, including 5 for Mali graphics processor and 4 for the Cortex-M for microcontrollers. Total dollar royalty revenues in Q1 2009 declined by 9 percent $58. (EETimes)
Fujitsu Microelectronics and TSMC to Collaborate on Leading-edge Process Technology Apr 30, 2009
Products and services include ASICs/COT, ASSPs, power management ICs, and flash microcontrollers, with wide-ranging expertise focusing on imaging, wireless, automotive and security applications. Fujitsu Microelectronics also drives power efficiency and environmental initiatives. (Canada Newswire)
NEC Electronics in Talks to Combine with Renesas Tachnology Apr 30, 2009
NEC Electronics and Renesas compete in the production of microcontrollers, mini-computers dedicated to a specific function, such as operating a liquid-crystal display in a microwave oven, cruise-control in a car, or remote control for a digital versatile disc player. They also make chips that operate LCDs. (JCN Network, Japan)
Microsoft: PCs Need New Security Model Apr 28, 2009
During a keynote presentation here at the RSA Conference, Charney touted Microsoft's progress with ways of ensuring that applications and other executables are legitimate, like identity systems, code signing, and Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) -- microcontrollers, often based on a PC's motherboard, that store digital certificates, keys and passwords. Tools. (HardwareCentral)
NEC Electronics, Renesas target next April for merger Apr 28, 2009
NEC Electronics and Renesas both specialise in microcontrollers and system semiconductors, and the combined company would have annual sales of nearly $13 billion, making it Japan's biggest chipmaker surpassing Toshiba Corp.. Microcontroller chips are often used in automatically controlled devices such as car engine control systems and power tools, while system chips control multiple functions in electronics and cars. (EETimes)
Does a Renesas-NEC Electronics merger make sense? Apr 18, 2009
The merger of NEC Electronics and Renesas would have a dominate position in microcontrollers (MCUs), but there would be huge integration issues, according to an analyst ... Merging with NEC's MCU operations would give this one vendor an unheard-of 30 percent market share of microcontrollers in a market where the biggest of 30 vendors barely trip into double-digit market shares,'' said Tom Starnes, an analyst with market researcher Objective Analysis. (EETimes)
SQI Flash From SST Honored With EDN Innovation of the Year Award Apr 16, 2009
The Company also offers its SuperFlash technology for embedded applications through its broad network of world-class manufacturing partners and technology licensees, including TSMC, which offers it under its trademark Emb-FLASH. SST's non-memory products include NAND controller-based products, smart card ICs and modules, flash microcontrollers and radio frequency ICs and modules. Further information on SST can be found on the company's Web site at. (PR Newswire)
Microchip aims to 'elbow out' rivals in MCU crisis Apr 15, 2009
Microchip itself was bruised earlier this year, when it ended its hostile efforts to acquire rival Atmel Corp.--a deal that could have expanded its efforts in high-end microcontrollers. Instead of landing a big fish in Atmel, Microchip is now content with making smaller acquisitions to jumpstart its sales and propel its new strategy. (EETimes)
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation Updates First Quarter 2009 Guidance Apr 8, 2009
Our mobile storage business is composed of microcontrollers used in NAND flash memory storage products such as flash memory cards, USB flash drives, SSDs, embedded flash applications, and card readers. Our mobile communications business is composed of mobile TV IC solutions, CDMA RF ICs, and electronic toll collection RF ICs. (Primezone Releases)
Characterizing custom analog blocks in mixed-signal microcontrollers Apr 7, 2009
At Luminary Micro, we design ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontrollers (MCUs) targeted at embedded consumer applications and industrial control. The Luminary Stellaris MCUs also contain custom analog blocks such as oscillators, PLLs, and ADCs to support clocking and mixed-signal applications. (EETimes)
Frost & Sullivan Finds that the Southeast Asian Microcontrollers Market is Set to Grow Steadily Apr 6, 2009
Frost van Finds that the Southeast Asian Microcontrollers Market is Set to Grow Steadily ... Frost van Finds that the Southeast Asian Microcontrollers Market is Set to Grow Steadily ... New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (), Southeast Asian Microcontrollers Market, finds that market earned revenues of over $1,234. (PR Newswire)
Aehr Test Systems Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter Fiscal 2009 Apr 3, 2009
The MAX system can effectively burn-in and functionally test complex devices, such as digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip. The DiePak carrier is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform cost-effective final test and burn-in of bare die. (PR Newswire)
Saugus engineering student does his Rube Goldberg Thing Mar 20, 2009
M5 (short for Marcus Hall, Room 5) consists of 13 rooms chockablock with circuits, chips, parts, voltmeters, power supplies, oscilloscopes, audio/video equipment, microcontrollers and many other things near and dear to the hearts of engineers. It s a place, as one student jokes, where electrical and computer engineering students can do their Rube Goldberg thing, referring to the Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist who drew fantastical, imaginary machines. (Saugus Advertiser, MA)
Makers meet up in Newcastle Mar 18, 2009
Instead, he said, they could turn to kits based around microcontrollers, such as the Arduino, and put them to work. "It makes it a lot easier to do interesting things," he said. (BBC News -- Technology)
ON Semi adds 30 IP blocks to portfolio Mar 17, 2009
Chip vendor ON Semiconductor Monday (March 16) added more than 30 blocks to its IP portfolio, including blocks for industry-standard interfaces, microcontrollers and peripherals. Potential customers for the new IP operate across a variety of industry sectors and application areas including military and aerospace, networking and wireless communications, consumer electronics, automotive and industrial automation, (Chandler, Ariz. (EETimes)
Microchip Technology to buy Austrlian firm Mar 10, 2009
announced Monday it had agreed to buy , a developer of embedded tools for microcontrollers ... Microship officials said the Hi-Tech software would help it develop more efficient compilers for microcontrollers throughout its product line. (Phoenix Business Journal, AZ)
Microchip buys Australian software firm Mar 10, 2009
Based in Brisbane, Australia, Hi-Tech is a third-party provider of C compilers for Microchip's 8-, 16- and 32-bit microcontrollers and other products. Terms were not disclosed. (EETimes)
Maxim's 16-Bit MAXQ(r) Microcontroller Greatly Extends Battery Life in Portable Equipment Mar 10, 2009
The problem is that most microcontrollers do not operate at a low enough voltage to fully utilize available battery capacity ... Manufacturers of battery-powered devices can reduce the environmental impact of their products by utilizing low-power microcontrollers that can extract every available milliwatt of power from batteries ... However, most 8- and 16-bit microcontrollers on the market today only operate down to 2. (Primezone Releases)
Embedded processor market to resist financial crisis, say VDC Mar 6, 2009
The vast majority of this embedded processor market remains microcontrollers, which are low-cost autonomous embedded processing units used in embedded applications that have lower-end processing requirements. Embedded CPUs, DSPs, and FPGAs all typically provide higher levels of processing performance than MCUs and command higher average selling prices (ASPs), but exist in smaller unit quantities, making MCUs also the largest dollar volume segment of the four embedded processing technologies. (EETimes)
Embedded Java heads for real-time apps Mar 5, 2009
At the fair, IS2T highlights together with Atmel an integrated Java solution for flash microcontrollers. The Java platform is tailored for Atmel's AVR32 IC3 microcontroller and features a very small footprint of 64 Kbytes of SRAM for Data and 256 Kbytes for flash-based program memory. (EETimes)
Luminary Micro Supports ARM(R) Cortex(TM) Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) Mar 4, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminary Micro, creators of the award-winning Stellaris family of ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontrollers (MCUs), today announced alignment and support for ARM's Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS), a standardized hardware abstraction layer for the Cortex-M processor series. The purpose of the CMSIS initiative is precisely the same as Luminary Micro's purpose when creating the Stellaris family of ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontrollers: to... (PR Newswire)
Luminary readies fourth generation Stellaris MCUs Mar 4, 2009
Five microcontrollers in the LM3S9000 Series feature an on-chip combination of 10/100 Ethernet MAC/PHY, USB On-The-Go, and controller area network while and there are two additions to the LM3S2000 CAN series and LM3S5000 USB and CAN Ssries ... The Stellaris microcontrollers include the StellarisWare Boot Loader in ROM, allowing users to download code to flash memory for firmware updates through UART, I2C, SSI, or Ethernet ... With this launch, Luminary will have more than 150 ARM-based... (EETimes)
New TI Delfino(TM) MCUs double floating-point performance for development of more intelligent, energy efficient high-end real-time control applications Mar 3, 2009
The Delfino series of C2000 microcontrollers are sampling today and will start at $8. 95 in volume production. (PR Newswire)
Report: $2B chip market in alternative energy Feb 27, 2009
The chips involved are primarily MOSFETs, IGBTs, microcontrollers, DSPs and discretes used to convert the renewable energy from AC to DC power. "The figures are based on a quantitative analysis," said Robert Castellano, president of research firm founded in 1985 that tracks a wide variety of silicon, LCD and other high tech markets. (EETimes)
Automotive electronics to recover slowly after deep dip Feb 27, 2009
Beneficiaries will be suppliers of microcontrollers, analog circuitry and sensors, Databeans estimates. In terms of market share, Freescale leads the pack with currently 9. (EETimes)
ARM preps tiny core for low-power microcontrollers Feb 24, 2009
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 ... 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. (EETimes)
See all SEMICONDUCTOR News Feb 24, 2009
With help from lead partner and licensee NXP, ARM Holdings plc has designed a very low gate-count 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. (EETimes)
Demand soars for energy efficient electronics Feb 18, 2009
What's more, designers must make greater use of the intelligence provided by software so that hardware components like microcontrollers, and DSPs can communicate with each other to help reduce power consumption. The growing focus on energy efficiency comes as the Obama administration plans to spend billions of dollars on power conservation and sustainable energy projects as part of a "Energy efficiency is the bridge fuel we must build on and must invest in," said Andrew Fanara, who helps run the... (EETimes)
Maxim Launches EE-Sim Online Simulation Tool Feb 17, 2009
Transim Technology Corporation is the worldwide leader developing online design solutions for manufacturers of analog and mixed-signal products, microcontrollers, motor drives, and other complex technical products. Corporate headquarters are located in Portland, Oregon. (Primezone Releases)
Fujitsu Launches WiMAX Baseband LSI for Mobile PCs Feb 16, 2009
Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited (FML) is a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) manufacturer that provides highly reliable, optimal solutions to meet the varying needs of its customers, through LSI offerings including ASIC/COT, ASSP and power management ICs, and flash microcontrollers. Along with building on its wide-range expertise focusing on imaging, wireless, and security LSI applications, FML also pursues initiatives for power efficiency and undertakes environmentally-conscious... (JCN Network, Japan)
Microchip bets on new touch-sensing technology Feb 10, 2009
The Chandler-based manufacturer of microcontrollers is currently working with potential customers who may incorporate the company's mTouch Inductive Touch-Sensing line into everything from stoves and dishwashers to gate entries for apartments and commercial properties ... The mTouch technology is one of Microchip's efforts to boost sales of microcontrollers, central processing units and other semiconductor products. (AZCentral -- Business)
