ARM Announces AMBA 3 AXI Design Tools And Fabric IP For High-Performance, Power-Efficient SoC Designs

ARM has secured multiple licensees for the new Fabric IP which enables the rapid assembly of SoC designs

CAMBRIDGE, UK – July 24, 2006 – ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY)] today announced at DAC (Design Automation Conference) in San Francisco, Calif., the launch of the next-generation ARM® PrimeCell® AMBA® 3 AXI Configurable Interconnect (PL 301) and the AMBA Designer™ Ecosystem Edition design automation tool, for use in embedded system design.

Together, these new Fabric generation products provide designers with the means to efficiently manage the flow of on-chip traffic in next-generation system-on-chip (SoC) designs, resulting in SoC solutions with greatly increased system performance and improved power savings.

ARM has already secured several licensees for the Configurable Interconnect solution, including Agere Systems and Toshiba.

“One of key focus areas for Toshiba is to improve the quality and availability of next-generation consumer electronics through leading-edge innovation, which is why ARM’s AMBA protocol-based design solutions are so important,” said Takashi Yoshimori, SoC-Design Technology Executive, Toshiba Corporation Semiconductor Company. “ARM’s position as the industry’s AMBA expert and the company’s inherent knowledge of the IP needs of semiconductor manufacturers enable our organization to stay at the forefront of consumer electronics.”

“ARM’s AMBA protocol-based solutions enable Agere to create next-generation SoC designs that maximize performance and power efficiency,” said Gene Scuteri, vice president of engineering with Agere's Networking Division. “ARM’s progressive development  of  AMBA solutions, coupled with their AMBA Designer tool suite, helps us to develop our best-in-class system solutions for the networking market.”

Through the use of the AMBA Designer tool and the Configurable Interconnect, system architects can also create fully optimized register transfer level (RTL) design files in a SPIRIT-compatible file format, delivered with a simple touch of a button. As a result, the AMBA Designer tool in combination with the PrimeCell Configurable Interconnect and peripheral IP can quickly generate a complete Fabric system design package ready for IC implementation and manufacture.

“The need to make complex SoC design as efficient as possible is an industry-wide issue that ARM, in conjunction with leading semiconductor companies, is addressing with its comprehensive AMBA design protocol,” said Jonathan Morris, general manager, Fabric, ARM. “These latest AMBA products emphasize ARM’s commitment to providing an ecosystem of system IP and EDA tool vendor support and highlights our commitment to working closely with designers to ensure innovative solutions are delivered to their customers ahead of the curve.”

The ARM PrimeCell AMBA 3 AXI Configurable Interconnect
ARM PrimeCell peripherals are re-usable soft IP macrocells, which enable the rapid assembly of SoC designs. The next-generation AMBA 3 AXI Configurable Interconnect (PL301) is ARM’s latest PrimeCell solution designed to drive the standardization of the SoC interconnect market.

The PL301 solution delivers extensive configurability and scope for design teams working to achieve high-level performance targets for all major consumer applications such a mobile communications, automotive, and network infrastructure solutions. Used in conjunction with the AMBA Designer tool, the PL301 solution significantly reduces the design cycle from weeks and months to days and minutes to produce an optimized solution for any given design.

The PL301 solution extends the Fabric IP portfolio, unleashing the performance of ARM processors such as the ARM11™ MPCore™ multiprocessor, the ARM1176JZ(F)-S™ processor, the ARM1156T2(F)-S™ processor and the Cortex™-R4 and Cortex-A8 processors.

AMBA Designer Ecosystem Edition
The new AMBA Designer tool builds further on ARM’s industry-proven RealView® SoC Designer electronic system level (ESL) solution, allowing engineers to seamlessly configure, model, and simulate AMBA AXI interconnects and, for the first time, ARM PrimeCell peripherals as well.

The AMBA Designer Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tool simplifies the process undertaken by system architects to achieve optimal configuration of PrimeCell peripherals. PrimeCell IP is designed to provide unrivalled configurability and optimized performance/power/area (PPA) and, in combination with the AMBA Designer tool, has the potential to greatly reduce implementation costs and time to market. The multitude of options presented by configurable Fabric IP presents a new, and often time-consuming, challenge for the design community. Through the use of the AMBA Designer tool, system architects are able to achieve optimal IP configuration with minimal time investment and risk.

Availability
The ARM PrimeCell AMBA 3 AXI Configurable Interconnect and the AMBA Designer Ecosystem Edition design automation tool are available for licensing from ARM now.

About ARM
ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from mobile, home and enterprise solutions to embedded and emerging applications. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, 3D processors, digital libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools, as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. Combined with the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.