Infineon to integrate ARM Thumb, embedded DRAM

Infineon to integrate ARM Thumb, embedded DRAM
By Peter Clarke, EE Times
May 18, 2000 (6:13 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000518S0040

MUNICH, Germany — Infineon Technologies AG has licensed the ARM processor cores of ARM Ltd. (Cambridge, England) for use in single-chip devices combining embedded DRAM with an Infineon controller, CPU or DSP.

Infineon said it has licensed the ARM7 and ARM9 Thumb cores, which use a 16-bit instruction format to reduce program memory size and power consumption. They will be combined with embedded DRAM for various system chips, including graphics controllers for handheld computers and digital assitants, digital still cameras and mobile Web browsers, as well as other peripheral controllers.

Infineon's capability to integrate ARM processors with large amounts of DRAM, customer-specific logic and analog parts on a single piece of silicon is suitable for applications in which form factor and costs are critical, the company said. Ulrich Schumacher, president and chief executive officer, had previously said that Infineon was prepared to license ARM c ores if customers required them.

Infineon-developed cores include the 16-bit C166 microcontroller, the 32-bit TriCore processor and Carmel DSP cores.

Infineon, ARM, embedded DRAM