Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile

    Freescale’s New IoT Chip Is as Thin as a Blade of Grass

    By
    Jeff Burt
    -
    December 1, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      IoT MCU

      Freescale Semiconductor is rolling out the latest of its tiny ARM-based microcontrollers that is aimed at the growing Internet of things and wearable device markets.

      Company officials on Dec. 1 unveiled an ultra-thin Kinetis K22 microcontroller (MCU) that they said has the thickness of a blade of grass. Freescale and other chip makers have been looking to shrink the MCUs to enable customers to build increasingly smaller Internet of things (IoT) and wearable devices, with much of the focus being around the chips’ length and depth.

      With the new Kinetis M22 MCU, which is available now, Freescale engineers focused on the height of the chip, reducing it by almost half over its predecessor, which was 0.60mm thick. The new chip comes in at 0.34mm, about half the thickness of a credit card, according to Steve Tateosian, manager of microcontroller platforms for Freescale.

      “The trend now is toward miniature, ultra-small devices,” Tateosian told eWEEK, adding that the trend is driving the demand for ultra-small components. Reducing the height of the chip “allows microcontrollers to go into devices where before there might not have been room.”

      Freescale officials are looking at a broad range of uses for the new MCU, from secure credit cards to wearable devices to consumer electronics. The reduced height of the chip will help the company grow its presence in such business segments, Tateosian said.

      The key was the changes in packaging the company was able to achieve, he said. That included reducing the various layers of the MCU, while still enabling greater integration of components onto the chip, such as advanced analog and peripheral features and a crystal-less full-speed USB, according to Tateosian.

      Within this 0.34mm-thick form factor, the MCU—based on ARM’s Cortex-M4 chip design—offers a max frequency of 120MHz, 512KB of integrated flash and 128KB of integrate SRAM. The plan is for Freescale to deploy the ultra-thin packaging technology across a range of other Kinetis MCUs, with more products being released in the coming months, he said.

      “It’s a very, very thin form factor, and every little bit helps,” Tateosian said. “We’ve seen the trend for thinner and thinner for several years. … It’s an untapped opportunity in the market.”

      Freescale officials said having such thin MCUs will open up new areas for the company. For example, the new MCU could be used in medical devices, such as a system that monitors the glucose levels of a diabetic patient through a stretchable electronic path or implanted under the skin.

      Freescale and other vendors have been pursuing smaller and lower-power MCUs to meet the growing demand fueled by the IoT, wearables and other small embedded systems. The IoT market is expected to expand rapidly over the next few years, with the number of devices growing rapidly—Cisco Systems officials predict the number of connected devices worldwide jumping from 25 billion last year to more than 50 billion in 2020—and revenues hitting $1.7 trillion, according to IDC analysts.

      Freescale offers a broad range of ARM-based MCUs in its Kinetis lineup, as well as other chips aimed at the IoT. In February 2014, the company unveiled the Kinetis KL03, an MCU that fits into the dimple of a golf ball. In July, Freescale rolled out the i.MX6 single chip module (SCM), which is about the size of a dime and includes two ARM processor cores and other integrated components, such as memory boards and power management capabilities.

      All this comes as NXP Semiconductors prepares to complete its $12 billion acquisition of Freescale in a deal that will create a combined company with a valuation of more than $40 billion. NXP officials on Nov. 27 said the deal had cleared its final regulatory hurdle after getting the approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce. The sale is expected to close Dec. 7.

      The company announced Nov. 30 that Daniel Durn, currently Freescale’s CFO, will assume the same position at NXP after the deal is completed. Durn also will be given the title of executive vice president.

      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×