Zilog, Inc. and ARM core-based secured transaction solutions, unveiled that it has extended its microcontroller market strategy by licensing the ARM Cortex-M3 processor to develop a new family of industry leading 32-bit based solutions. Adding a new family of 32-bit MCU-based SoC solutions will greatly expand the reach of its product portfolio. It will now provide design engineers more choice and flexibility at the right price points for the broadest possible set of embedded applications.

    The agreement accelerates the roll out of Zilog's new family of highly integrated, feature-rich, 32-bit solutions for embedded and portable applications that demand high performance, small form factor and low power consumption. Zilog has long been a leading supplier of 8- and 16-bit MCU system-on-chip solutions. The Cortex-M3 processor provides outstanding computational performance and exceptional system response to interrupts while meeting low cost requirements through small core footprint, industry leading code density enabling smaller memories, reduced pin count and low power consumption.

    Zilog is no stranger to ARM. Three years ago Zilog licensed the ARM9 microprocessor family for its new Zatara family of 32-bit Applications Specific Standard Products (ASSP) that targeted the rapidly growing secure transactions/Point-of-Sale market. Zilog will develop a new set of 32-bit MCU-based SoCs that build on its pre-existing, and deep knowledge base of ARM processors. It will provide differentiated ASSPs and MCU based solutions by building the "Zilog value-add" around the low power capabilities and highly configurable nature of Cortex-M3 processor, taking advantage of its ability to apply technology to key targeted applications to achieve clear technology differentiation at the right value proposition.

    "The 32-bit microcontroller marketplace is rapidly growing around the Cortex-M3 processor to provide a fast and reliable path to market leadership," said Eric Schorn, vice president of marketing, Processor Division, ARM. "Further, our Partners are breaking through the traditional segmentation that divides the market into separate 8-, 16- and 32-bit categories and instead are offering a seamless range of technology optimized for the widest range of applications."

    Zilog's fully integrated, single chip Zatara solution is a "best-in-class integrated feature set", with the highest level of PCI-PED security and performance in the POS industry today. Zilog's Zatara solution is a key driver for next-generation, POS payment systems where it now has a technological edge and market leadership. The company expects to achieve the same high level of success in a wide array of products utilizing the ARM Cortex-M3 processor.

    The ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit RISC processor was specifically developed to provide a high-performance, low-cost platform for a broad range of applications including microcontrollers, automotive body systems, industrial control systems and wireless networking.According to Bladen, "The discussions we have had with both our internal engineering teams and with the customer community have been very positive, and we expect to quickly expand our leadership in this arena to the higher-end applications where performance and size coupled with lower power are simply crucial."