Philips implements right-first-time consumer-product SoC in 65-nm low-power CMOS

Philips SoC features 'low power by design' technology to deliver rich multimedia experiences and exceptional ease-of-use in consumer products

March 01, 2006 -- Securing its position at the leading edge of low-power CMOS technology for consumer-product applications, Philips today announced that it has successfully implemented a right-first-time 65-nm System-on-Chip (SoC) with the design complexity required in next-generation mobile multimedia and home entertainment products such as 3G mobile phones and high-performance LCD TVs.

Featuring an IEM™ (Intelligent Energy Manager) technology-enabled ARM1176JZF-S™ processor, 512 Kbytes of high-speed low-power scratch-pad memory, high-speed communication ports and key analog IP blocks, the new Philips chip is the first truly consumer-product oriented SoCs to be successfully produced in 65-nm low-power CMOS. It has been designed, as a platform to demonstrate what next-generation consumer products will be able to deliver in terms of a rich multimedia experience coupled with sense and simplicity of operation. It is already at the heart of new 65-nm CMOS SoCs currently in an advanced stage of development at Philips.

"The fact that fully functional chips came out right-first-time is a testament to the quality of the Crolles2 65-nm CMOS development line as well as a vindication of the entire design flow, right through from our 65-nm CMOS design libraries to our design verification and layout tools," said René Penning de Vries, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Philips Semiconductors.

The Philips SoC features an industry-leading 65nm CMOS implementation of an ARM1176JZF-S processor, chosen because of its enhanced TrustZone® security technology and Intelligent Energy Manager low power features. Low power by design was a key requirement for the chip because of the need to simultaneously meet the performance, complexity and power consumption requirements of battery-powered applications such as mobile phones and portable media players. The chip also utilizes several other low-power features such as the division of critical circuitry into voltage islands. Achieving low power by design is seen as crucial to overcoming the fact that the overall power budget for sub-100 nm CMOS chips is rapidly getting smaller.

"Philips' leading-edge 65nm process technology for low-power devices, coupled with the highly-optimized design of the ARM1176JZF-S processor is an excellent starting point for building a market-leading integrated multimedia device," said Mike Inglis EVP Marketing, ARM. "Re-usable right-first-time IP integration is essential for delivering products to current market requirements in a cost-effective solution."

Extensive testing has already seen the new Philips SoC booting and running the Linux operating system, which is rapidly gaining favor in the consumer-electronics market due to its modularity, scalability, open-source philosophy and low-cost development tool support.

About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 30.4 billion in 2005. With activities in the three interlocking domains of healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 159,200 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.