Product category:
Intellectual Property Cores
News Release from: Virage Logic
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 22 July 2005
Freescale signs for embedded memories at
65nm
Freescale Semiconductor has licensed Virage Logic's IPrima Mobile ASAP Memory ULP memories and STAR Memory System for use in its cellular baseband products.
Building on its 90nm process technology leadership, Virage Logic Corp has revealed the first end-user commercial development and licensing of advanced embedded memory IP at the 65nm process node Freescale Semiconductor has licensed Virage Logic's IPrima Mobile Area, Speed and Power (ASAP) Memory Ultra-Low-Power (ULP) memories and its Self-Test and Repair (STAR) Memory System for use in its cellular baseband products
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 22 Oct 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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"Our experience with Virage Logic's ULP memories and STAR Memory System at 90nm gave us the confidence to leverage their IP platforms in our 65nm designs", said Chekib Akrout, Freescale Semiconductor Vice President, Design Technology.
"Virage Logic's technology leadership, combined with their willingness to support our high performance, low power, and test integration needs in a timely fashion, made them our first advanced embedded memory IP provider for next-generation cellular baseband processors in 65nm technology".
The increasing demand for wireless consumer products and the need to produce them as cost effectively as possible, is driving the move to 65nm process technology.
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ViXS Systems has selected the Virage Logic ASAP Memory product for its innovative IP-based video distribution system that delivers broadcast-quality video over networks.
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Virage Logic has strengthened its relationship with Atmel by expanding its license agreement to include the company's Area, Speed and Power (ASAP) Memory product line on the 0.13-micron process.
This move to smaller and smaller process technologies presents new challenges in terms of power and performance management, as well as high-volume manufacturing requirements.
Virage Logic's IPrima Mobile platform and STAR Memory System were designed to address just such challenges.
The IPrima Mobile platform with its ULP memories, enables a broad range of power management methods to control both static and dynamic power consumption, including such advanced optimisation techniques as block-level voltage islands, clock gating, mixed-transistor threshold voltage support, voltage and frequency scaling, back biasing and standby mode with state retention.
By delivering up to 20x reduction in static and 80% reduction in dynamic power dissipation, IPrima Mobile significantly extends battery life, which is one of the key features consumers care about.
The STAR Memory System, a critical component to the successful early adoption of new process technologies, provides cost-effective on-chip test and repair of embedded memories in SoC designs.
This enables significant die yield improvements while delivering reduced manufacturing costs and higher product reliability, both of which are critically important in high-volume consumer applications such as cellular phones.
As the industry's only integrated embedded memory self-test and repair solution and the first product in Virage Logic's Silicon Aware IP initiative, the STAR Memory System eliminates the need for expensive external testers or laser repair equipment, thereby resulting in a drastic reduction in test development time and cost.
"Driven by the incredible demands of the cellphone market, Freescale set forth very aggressive targets for both power and performance".
"The combination of the Virage Logic IPrima Mobile ULP memories and STAR Memory System met those targets while also ensuring successful high-volume manufacturability", said Jim Ensell, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Virage Logic.
"Working with innovative companies like Freescale that are committed to technology leadership and excellence and are willing to push the envelope in terms of process adoption enables us to strengthen and extend our own technology leadership position".
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