ARM unveils world’s most efficient 32-bit processor

squadMCU — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 04:49:45 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by squadMCU on 10/8/2021 4:49:45 AM

ARM has already made a name for itself by developing very efficient processors, and chances are you have a chip based on an ARM design inside your phone and/or tablet. But it’s not just the high-performance gadgets we use everyday that require processors, everything from home appliances to the vehicles we travel in and the medical equipment that monitors us contain a myriad of chips too.

Today, ARM has unveiled the world’s most energy efficient 32-bit processor, and it’s promising to open the way for many more very low power, always-connected devices and the so-called “Internet of Things.”

The new chip is called the ARM Cortex-M0+ and has a 32-bit architecture built using a 90nm process, which helps to keep costs down. As for power use, it consumes a mere 9µA/MHz while still managing to offer high-performance 32-bit processing.

Significantly, the M0+ offers both performance and power saving gains over the previous generation chip it the replaces: the Cortex-M0. But more importantly, ARM has developed a 32-bit processor that uses a third of the energy typical 8-bit and 16-bit processor require, while remaining competitive on price with those lesser chips.

Even though ARM is using a 90nm process for the M0+, it still manages to produce a chip that measures just 1mm x 1mm, and uses next to no power when in sleep mode. Depending on the device, when coupled with a battery pack this new chip could go years before the battery is depleted. It truly opens up a deploy-and-forget mentality for intelligent sensors.

Both Freescale and NXT have already licensed the Cortex-M0+, with Freescale confirming it has working silicon based on the design. It therefore shouldn’t take long before ARM’s latest processor starts shipping in products.