Freescale Opens Licensing of ColdFire(R) Microcontroller Architecture to Embedded Customers

  
    
  
  
    
      Broadening customer access to one of the industry’s 
      most popular 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) architectures, Freescale 
      Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) has initiated a ColdFire® 
      licensing program for the embedded design community. Licensing ColdFire 
      technology gives customers unprecedented design flexibility using a 
      proven technology with nearly three decades of evolutionary development.
    
    
      The V2 ColdFire core is available now for licensing through IPextreme 
      Inc., semiconductor intellectual property (IP) licensing specialists. 
      Specifically, IPextreme plans to market, sell and support the V2 
      ColdFire core to system-on-chip (SoC) designers seeking to integrate the 
      core and other functions onto a single chip, helping them save time and 
      money. Freescale plans to open licensing to additional ColdFire cores in 
      2007 and beyond.
    
    
      “ColdFire has a rich heritage in the embedded 
      market, and we are pleased to bring the architecture to a broader 
      audience through our IP commercialization program,” 
      said Warren Savage, IPextreme CEO. “Now SoC 
      designers can work with Freescale and IPextreme to access and implement 
      ColdFire microcontroller cores and other functionality to speed time to 
      market and reduce system cost and complexity.”
    
    
      By acquiring a license to the V2 ColdFire core, high-volume embedded 
      system manufacturers are able to create their own low-power, highly 
      integrated 32-bit application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 
      solutions containing a ColdFire core combined with their proprietary 
      technology. ASIC devices based on ColdFire cores can be created quickly 
      and cost-effectively to address emerging market opportunities requiring 
      innovative, custom microcontroller designs.
    
    
      “The ability to license ColdFire cores, 
      available now for the first time in the 27-year history of the 
      architecture, will give embedded designers greater choice and 
      flexibility in their ASIC designs,” said Tony 
      Massimini, chief of technology at Semico Research Corporation. “Freescale 
      and IPextreme’s licensing program will also 
      help expand the market for ColdFire architecture within the embedded 
      control community, and it will help broaden the availability of 
      third-party ecosystem support for the architecture.”
    
    
      “The ColdFire licensing program is a key 
      milestone in our Controller Continuum roadmap, broadening and deepening 
      our market penetration within the 32-bit control industry,” 
      said Mike McCourt, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s 
      Microcontroller Division. “The licensing 
      program gives customers the design freedom and flexibility to develop 
      application-specific solutions that provide control, connectivity and 
      security for a wide array of consumer and industrial products.”
    
    
      Based on a memory-configurable hierarchical architecture that is 
      100-percent synthesizable, the V2 ColdFire core is designed specifically 
      for software reuse and ease of integration into custom designs. ASIC 
      designs based on the V2 core will be software-compatible with all 
      ColdFire standard products and cycle accurate with V2-based devices.
    
    
      When implemented on 130 nanometer process technology, the V2 core 
      supports up to 166 MHz of performance using a variable-length RISC 
      architecture that allows instructions to be 16-, 32- or 48-bits long. 
      The entire ColdFire family of embedded controllers is supported by 
      world-class development tools, including the CodeWarrior® 
      software suite and professional tools from Freescale’s 
      third-party partners, such as Green Hills Software, Mentor Graphics and 
      Wind River Systems.
    
    
      Licensing availability
    
    
      IPextreme plans to market, license and support the V2 ColdFire core to 
      system-on-chip (SoC) designers seeking to integrate the core and other 
      functions onto a single chip. To help designers decrease time-to-market, 
      a standard product platform (SPP) that includes the V2 core is also 
      available now from IPextreme. The SPP is a set of tested and 
      silicon-proven peripherals that can be easily used to build large, 
      complex systems.
    
    
      For more information about the ColdFire licensing program or to obtain a 
      license to the V2 core from IPextreme, visit http://www.freescale.com/files/pr/coldfirelicensing.html.
    
    
      68K ColdFire architecture in the embedded world
    
    
      The ColdFire story begins with Freescale’s 
      venerable 68K instruction-set architecture (ISA), developed in the late 
      1970s and widely popularized in computing and embedded applications. 
      After further optimizing the 68K ISA for the embedded world, Freescale 
      introduced the ColdFire architecture in 1996 as a RISC-based subset of 
      68K – targeting embedded applications.
    
    
      To date, Freescale has shipped more than a half billion 68K ColdFire 
      core-based products. Building upon the 68K foundation, the ColdFire 
      architecture comprises high-performance RISC cores with industry-leading 
      code density and a rich set of connectivity peripherals. By supporting 
      variable-length instructions (16-, 32- or 48-bits long), the ColdFire 
      architecture enables higher code density than traditional 32- and 64-bit 
      RISC machines. More efficient use of on-chip memory reduces bus 
      bandwidth and external memory requirements, resulting in lower system 
      cost.
    
    
      ColdFire MCUs continue to set the pace for the embedded market – 
      from industrial automation systems to inkjet printers and MP3 players – 
      by offering on-chip features and functionality that address the specific 
      embedded application requirements. When the market demanded more 
      connectivity, Freescale responded with multiple ColdFire connectivity 
      options, including 10/100 Ethernet, USB 2.0, PCI, CAN and other serial 
      interfaces. When the market required complex, real-time control for 
      industrial applications, Freescale responded by integrating an enhanced 
      Time Processing Unit (eTPU) on ColdFire architecture products. And when 
      the market called for enhanced security, Freescale delivered 
      cryptography accelerators as optional modules on ColdFire devices.
    
    
      About the Controller Continuum
    
    
      Introduced in the first quarter of 2006, Freescale’s 
      Controller Continuum for consumer and industrial applications features 
      an 8- to 32-bit roadmap with pin-for-pin compatible devices that will 
      share common peripherals and development tools. The RS08KA family of 
      8-bit microcontrollers provides an ultra-low-end entry point into the 
      Controller Continuum, while the recently announced V1 ColdFire core is 
      the first step toward pin-for-pin compatibility between 8-bit and 32-bit 
      microcontrollers.
    
    
      About IPextreme Inc.
    
    
      IPextreme brings high-value intellectual property (IP) from large 
      semiconductor companies to consumer and automotive system-on-chip (SOC) 
      designers worldwide. These products are silicon proven to minimize 
      design risk and provided in a process independent and EDA neutral 
      format, for easy use by the broadest range of customers. With a decade 
      of experience in developing, packaging, licensing and supporting IP, our 
      team offers a complete business solution for semiconductor companies to 
      strategically leverage their internal IP portfolio to grow overall 
      revenue. IPextreme has offices in Campbell, California, Munich, Germany 
      and Tokyo, Japan. www.ip-extreme.com.
    
    
      About Freescale Semiconductor
    
    
      Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) is a global leader 
      in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the 
      automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. 
      Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004. The company is 
      based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, 
      manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale, 
      a member of the S&P 500®, is one of the 
      world’s largest semiconductor companies with 
      2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD).
    
    
      www.freescale.com
    
    
      
        
          
            Reader Inquiry Response
          
        
      
      
        
          Freescale Semiconductor
        
      
      
        
          P.O. Box 17927
        
      
      
        
          Denver, CO 80217 USA
        
      
    
    
      Freescale™ and the Freescale logo are 
      trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service 
      names are the property of their respective owners. © 
      Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. 2006.
    
  
Broadening customer access to one of the industry's most popular
32-bit microcontroller (MCU) architectures, Freescale Semiconductor
(NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) has initiated a ColdFire(R) licensing program
for the embedded design community. Licensing ColdFire technology gives
customers unprecedented design flexibility using a proven technology
with nearly three decades of evolutionary development.

   The V2 ColdFire core is available now for licensing through
IPextreme Inc., semiconductor intellectual property (IP) licensing
specialists. Specifically, IPextreme plans to market, sell and support
the V2 ColdFire core to system-on-chip (SoC) designers seeking to
integrate the core and other functions onto a single chip, helping
them save time and money. Freescale plans to open licensing to
additional ColdFire cores in 2007 and beyond.

   "ColdFire has a rich heritage in the embedded market, and we are
pleased to bring the architecture to a broader audience through our IP
commercialization program," said Warren Savage, IPextreme CEO. "Now
SoC designers can work with Freescale and IPextreme to access and
implement ColdFire microcontroller cores and other functionality to
speed time to market and reduce system cost and complexity."

   By acquiring a license to the V2 ColdFire core, high-volume
embedded system manufacturers are able to create their own low-power,
highly integrated 32-bit application-specific integrated circuit
(ASIC) solutions containing a ColdFire core combined with their
proprietary technology. ASIC devices based on ColdFire cores can be
created quickly and cost-effectively to address emerging market
opportunities requiring innovative, custom microcontroller designs.

   "The ability to license ColdFire cores, available now for the
first time in the 27-year history of the architecture, will give
embedded designers greater choice and flexibility in their ASIC
designs," said Tony Massimini, chief of technology at Semico Research
Corporation. "Freescale and IPextreme's licensing program will also
help expand the market for ColdFire architecture within the embedded
control community, and it will help broaden the availability of
third-party ecosystem support for the architecture."

   "The ColdFire licensing program is a key milestone in our
Controller Continuum roadmap, broadening and deepening our market
penetration within the 32-bit control industry," said Mike McCourt,
vice president and general manager of Freescale's Microcontroller
Division. "The licensing program gives customers the design freedom
and flexibility to develop application-specific solutions that provide
control, connectivity and security for a wide array of consumer and
industrial products."

   Based on a memory-configurable hierarchical architecture that is
100-percent synthesizable, the V2 ColdFire core is designed
specifically for software reuse and ease of integration into custom
designs. ASIC designs based on the V2 core will be software-compatible
with all ColdFire standard products and cycle accurate with V2-based
devices.

   When implemented on 130 nanometer process technology, the V2 core
supports up to 166 MHz of performance using a variable-length RISC
architecture that allows instructions to be 16-, 32- or 48-bits long.
The entire ColdFire family of embedded controllers is supported by
world-class development tools, including the CodeWarrior(R) software
suite and professional tools from Freescale's third-party partners,
such as Green Hills Software, Mentor Graphics and Wind River Systems.

   Licensing availability

   IPextreme plans to market, license and support the V2 ColdFire
core to system-on-chip (SoC) designers seeking to integrate the core
and other functions onto a single chip. To help designers decrease
time-to-market, a standard product platform (SPP) that includes the V2
core is also available now from IPextreme. The SPP is a set of tested
and silicon-proven peripherals that can be easily used to build large,
complex systems.

   For more information about the ColdFire licensing program or to
obtain a license to the V2 core from IPextreme, visit
http://www.freescale.com/files/pr/coldfirelicensing.html.

   68K ColdFire architecture in the embedded world

   The ColdFire story begins with Freescale's venerable 68K
instruction-set architecture (ISA), developed in the late 1970s and
widely popularized in computing and embedded applications. After
further optimizing the 68K ISA for the embedded world, Freescale
introduced the ColdFire architecture in 1996 as a RISC-based subset of
68K -- targeting embedded applications.

   To date, Freescale has shipped more than a half billion 68K
ColdFire core-based products. Building upon the 68K foundation, the
ColdFire architecture comprises high-performance RISC cores with
industry-leading code density and a rich set of connectivity
peripherals. By supporting variable-length instructions (16-, 32- or
48-bits long), the ColdFire architecture enables higher code density
than traditional 32- and 64-bit RISC machines. More efficient use of
on-chip memory reduces bus bandwidth and external memory requirements,
resulting in lower system cost.

   ColdFire MCUs continue to set the pace for the embedded market --
from industrial automation systems to inkjet printers and MP3 players
-- by offering on-chip features and functionality that address the
specific embedded application requirements. When the market demanded
more connectivity, Freescale responded with multiple ColdFire
connectivity options, including 10/100 Ethernet, USB 2.0, PCI, CAN and
other serial interfaces. When the market required complex, real-time
control for industrial applications, Freescale responded by
integrating an enhanced Time Processing Unit (eTPU) on ColdFire
architecture products. And when the market called for enhanced
security, Freescale delivered cryptography accelerators as optional
modules on ColdFire devices.

   About the Controller Continuum

   Introduced in the first quarter of 2006, Freescale's Controller
Continuum for consumer and industrial applications features an 8- to
32-bit roadmap with pin-for-pin compatible devices that will share
common peripherals and development tools. The RS08KA family of 8-bit
microcontrollers provides an ultra-low-end entry point into the
Controller Continuum, while the recently announced V1 ColdFire core is
the first step toward pin-for-pin compatibility between 8-bit and
32-bit microcontrollers.

   About IPextreme Inc.

   IPextreme brings high-value intellectual property (IP) from large
semiconductor companies to consumer and automotive system-on-chip
(SOC) designers worldwide. These products are silicon proven to
minimize design risk and provided in a process independent and EDA
neutral format, for easy use by the broadest range of customers. With
a decade of experience in developing, packaging, licensing and
supporting IP, our team offers a complete business solution for
semiconductor companies to strategically leverage their internal IP
portfolio to grow overall revenue. IPextreme has offices in Campbell,
California, Munich, Germany and Tokyo, Japan. www.ip-extreme.com.

   About Freescale Semiconductor

   Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NYSE:FSL) (NYSE:FSL.B) is a global
leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for
the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets.
Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004. The company
is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development,
manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries.
Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest
semiconductor companies with 2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD).

   www.freescale.com

-0-
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Reader Inquiry Response
Freescale Semiconductor
P.O. Box 17927
Denver, CO 80217 USA
*T

   Freescale(TM) and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale
Semiconductor, Inc. All other product or service names are the
property of their respective owners. (C) Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
2006.