STMicroelectronics licenses ARM Cortex-A9 multiprocessor core
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 29 October 2009, 20:49 IST
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Paris: Chipmaker STMicroelectronics has licensed the the Cortex-A9 MPCore multicore processor from ARM Holdings for use in its next-generation set-top-box and digital TV system-on-chip (SoC) integrated circuits. The Cortex-A9 MPCore processor can contain up to four independently-configured cores carrying out multiple tasks on each one in parallel. A uniprocessor software model is possible by utilizing one of the many SMP-aware operating systems, ARM said. A single core Cortex-A9 processor is capable of delivering twice the performance of currently available smartphone processors and a four-CPU Cortex-A9 processor cluster is capable of delivering 10,000 aggregate DMIPS when clocked at one gigahertz. In addition to the Cortex-A9 processor, ARM said it has licensed the ARM Mali-400 MP multicore scalable graphics processing unit technology to meet the demand for graphical user interfaces and for sophisticated web-based services, reports EE Times. ARM claimed that its Mali-400 GPU provides ST with '1080p' three dimensional user interfaces conforming to the Khronos OpenGL ES 2.0 API and helps deliver seamless composition of graphics and video. "Building our next-generation high definition television consumer devices around the high-performance ARM architecture will enable us to continue to deliver best-in-class devices for our customers, while providing a simple migration route from our existing ST-40 based chips," said Philippe Lambinet, Executive Vice President, Home Entertainment and Display Group at STMicroelectronics. STMicroelectronics said that it expects its first devices for home entertainment applications integrating the Cortex-A9 MPCore and Mali-400MP will be available in mid 2010. The company is already using ARM processor technology in its ST-40-based SoCs and Cortex-based microcontroller products.

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