Cut in energy draw for portables comes to life

摘要

A CPU maker, a mixed-signal stalwart and an electronic design automation company last week disclosed that they are working together on a project aimed at slashing energy consumption in cellular phones and other portable devices. ARM, National Semiconductor and Synopsys have been working to pull dynamic voltage scaling out of the universities and into standard system-on-chip (SoC) design practice. ARM and National announced that they have fabricated test chips incorporating a voltage-frequency controller and performance monitors into an ARM-based SoC, and have measured significant energy savings. While the strategic business relationship between ARM and National was disclosed last December, the participation of Synopsys was made known only last week.