ARM Selected To Deliver Low-Power and High-Performance Libraries For IBM, Chartered and Samsung 45-Nanometer Common Platform Technology

Companies extend relationship to enable customers’ time-to-market advantage for advanced SoC design and semiconductor manufacturing solutions

CAMBRIDGE, UK – Oct. 26, 2006 – ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMHY)] today announced that   Common Platform technology business partners IBM, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., have licensed ARM® Metro™ low-power and Advantage™ high-performance products, part of its Artisan^® Physical IP family, for the technology alliance’s 45-nanometer (nm) Low-Power (LP) process technology. The license agreement for ARM libraries extends the companies’ relationship to ensure system-on-chip (SoC) design compatibility and manufacturing flexibility for foundry customers. ARM previously announced and has delivered products under 65nm license agreements with IBM, Chartered, and Samsung, as well as 90nm products under license agreements with IBM and Chartered. Additionally, IBM, Chartered and Samsung are members of the ARM Connected Community.

The ARM Advantage and Metro products include ARM standard cells, I/Os and memories, which support the IBM, Chartered and Samsung 45nm LP Common Platform process and are optimized for both low -power and high-performance designs for a wide range of applications in the consumer, communications and networking markets. Additionally, product enhancements have been made at 45nm to meet expanding customer requirements and to address increased manufacturability challenges. New product enhancements include: power-gating and circuit implementations that enable run-time control of performance and leakage power in all memories; design techniques and enhancements to the ARM Power Management Kit of standard cells that simplify the task of implementing advanced power-reduction techniques in SoCs; programmable I/O architecture and design techniques that enable on-the-fly reconfigurability of the I/O ring to meet changing system requirements and allow reuse of an SoC in multiple systems.  

“Optimized libraries are a required building block for semiconductor development and manufacturing processes as the industry moves to more advanced technologies. We have selected ARM as a market leading physical IP provider for the Common Platform technology at 45nm, building on our proven relationship at 65nm,” said Steve Longoria, vice president, semiconductor technology platform, IBM Technology Collaboration Solutions™. “With ARM's optimized and proven libraries as a base, our clients and their customers can reap the benefits of next generation technology by developing their IP in chips, safe in the knowledge that the Common Platform collaborators and ARM have created a robust foundation for their designs."

“The Common Platform model is centered on the needs of customers and the flexibility they require in leveraging their intellectual property investment across their supply base,” said Kevin Meyer, vice president of worldwide marketing and platform alliances at Chartered.  “By working together with ARM to support multi-fab physical IP, we can accelerate the delivery of a fully optimized, low-power and high-performance solution on the industry’s most advanced 45nm low-power technology node.  This type of customer-centric collaboration between the Common Platform partners and ARM typifies the value customers get from open ecosystem cooperation.”

“A proven library provider is critical to the success of the Common Platform,” said Ana Hunter, vice president of technology for Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.  “Our cooperation with ARM brings together the expertise of our four companies to provide our customers with the most competitive standard cells, memory compilers and I/Os and incorporating the latest advances in DFM, power-management and design flow integration. We look forward to a strong, long-term relationship with ARM.”

“Extending ARM’s relationship with the Common Platform to 45nm technology provides SoC designers a generation leap in process performance and power optimization while doubling the gate density from 65nm,” said Warren East, chief executive officer, ARM. “Our collaboration model with the Common Platform technology partners enables concurrent optimization of physical IP with process technology and design methodologies resulting in superior solutions for our customers.”

All ARM physical IP is characterized for timing and power over an extended range of voltages, enabling customers to perform accurate pre-tapeout simulation of multi-voltage designs. Additionally, the ARM Advantage and Metro suite of products enables advanced power-management methodologies by providing library components such as voltage level shifters and power-gating cells for use with both memories and standard cell blocks.

The ARM Advantage and Metro products conform to the ARM design standard that includes ARM’s extensive set of views and models providing integration with many of the industry’s leading electronic design automation (EDA) tools. These views provide functional, timing and power information for the Advantage and Metro products over a wide range of operating conditions, thus allowing designers to implement complex power-management systems that actively control dynamic and leakage power within their SoCs.

Availability
Preliminary versions of the ARM Advantage and Metro standard cell and I/O libraries and memory compilers for the IBM, Chartered and Samsung 45nm LP Common Platform technology are scheduled for availability in the fourth quarter of 2006 for licensed customers to download from the ARM website at http://www.arm.com at no charge. Final versions of the products are scheduled to be available in the second quarter of 2007.

About the Common Platform Collaboration
IBM, Chartered and Samsung have broken new ground in the semiconductor industry with a unique collaboration focused on leading-edge, jointly developed digital CMOS process technologies and advanced manufacturing. The Common Platform technology model is further supported by a comprehensive ecosystem of design enablement and implementation partners from the EDA, IP and design services industries. This ecosystem allows foundry customers to easily source their chip designs to multiple 300mm foundries with minimal design work, unprecedented flexibility and choice. The Common Platform model features 90nm, 65nm and 45nm offerings, built upon jointly developed process technology from IBM, Chartered, and Samsung.

About ARM
ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, graphics 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.

About the ARM Connected Community
The ARM Connected Community is a global network of companies aligned to provide a complete solution, from design to manufacture and end use, for products based on the ARM architecture. ARM offers a variety of resources to Community members, including promotional programs and peer-networking opportunities that enable a variety of ARM Partners to come together to provide end-to-end customer solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.arm.com/community.

Contact Arm Ltd Fill out this form for contacting a Arm Ltd representative. Your Name: Your E-mail address: Your Company address: Your Phone Number: Write your message: