ARM Announces 45nm SOI Test Chip Results That Demonstrate Potential 40 Percent Power Savings Over Bulk Process

SOI Test Chip Results Detailed at IEEE Conference
CAMBRIDGE, England--(Business Wire)--
ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMH)] announced at the IEEE SOI Conference, Foster
City, Calif., the results from a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) 45nm test chip that
demonstrate potential power savings of up to 40 percent over traditional bulk
process for manufacturing chips. The test chip was based on an ARM 1176
processor and enables a direct comparison between SOI and bulk microprocessor
implementations. The results confirm SOI technology is a viable alternative to
traditional bulk process technology when designing low-power processors for
high-performance consumer devices and mobile applications.

ARM and Soitec collaborated to produce a test chip to demonstrate the power
savings in a real silicon implementation with a well-known, industry-standard
core. The goal was to produce a comparison of 45nm SOI high-performance
technology with bulk CMOS 45nm low-power (LP) technology of the same product.

"As a technology leader in physical IP and processors, ARM has been an active
proponent of the benefits SOI may bring to our customers` products," said Tom
Lantzsch, vice president, physical IP division, ARM. "Investing the resources to
conduct a bulk vs. SOI comparison provides useful data to address previously
speculated claims and demonstrates that there can be performance and power
savings benefits from SOI."

The silicon results show that 45nm high-performance SOI technology can provide
up to 40 percent power savings and a 7 percent circuit area reduction compared
to bulk CMOS low-power technology, operating at the same speed. This same
implementation also demonstrated 20 percent higher operating frequency
capability over bulk while saving 30 percent in total power in specific test
applications.

"This benchmark by ARM and Soitec clearly demonstrates the potential
power/performance benefits of our sixth-generation 45nm SOI technology now
available to both ASIC and foundry clients," said Mark Ireland, vice president,
Semiconductor Products & Services, IBM. "Validating the power advantage of SOI
with an industry-standard ARM processor demonstrates the possibilities for SOI
adoption in the digital consumer electronic segment."

"This is a significant step for the industry, as the collaborative efforts of
SOI Consortium member companies have produced a proof-point that the energy
efficiency of SOI technology could cover battery operated applications," said
Horacio Mendez, executive director of the SOI Industry Consortium. "Many
companies will benefit from this data in considering their technology
manufacturing decision."

The design was implemented using ARM and IBM standard SOI libraries and leading
EDA tools. The IP ecosystem and manufacturing solutions are in place for design
starts with ARM and IBM libraries on IBM 45nm SOI technology.

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products,
from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging,
automotive, security and storage devices. ARM`s comprehensive product offering
includes 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines,
enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity
products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design
services, training, support and maintenance, and the company`s broad Partner
community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable
path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is
available at http://www.arm.com.

ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. Cortex is a trademark of ARM
Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective
holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc; its operating company ARM
Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM Inc.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Limited.; ARM
Taiwan Limited; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; ARM Belgium
N.V.; ARM Germany GmbH; ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; ARM Norway, AS; and
ARM Sweden AB.

ARM
Erik Ploof, +1 425-880-6033
erik.ploof@arm.com
or
Racepoint Group
RJ Bardsley, +1 415-694-6740
rjbardsley@racepointgroup.com

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