April 12, 2013 Distributor MSC Vertriebs has announced that it can supply samples of Renesas' RX100 Series low-power microcontrollers (MCUs), these 32-bit MCUs consume only 110 µA/MHz power in full active mode. Read more

March 27, 2013 New MSP430G2xx4 and G2xx5 devices from Texas Instruments enable wireless and advanced capacitive touch capabilities with additional serial ports, timers and die-sized packages. Read more

March 18, 2013 Renesas Electronics Europe has launched a sales drive in Russia and other CIS countries with the appointment of a new distributor in Russia, PT Electronics, with immediate effect. Read more

March 7, 2013 Following the launch of the first Freescale Semiconductor Freedom development hardware for the Kinetis family in 2012, element14 is making available a new board for evaluating Kinetis KL05Z MCUs (FRDM-KL05Z). Read more

February 18, 2013 Renesas Electronics Europe has introduced a large number of new low power, low voltage microcontrollers (MCUs). Read more

January 11, 2013 NXP Semiconductors N.V. has introduced the JN516x family of wireless microcontrollers for the Internet of Things, as well as a new evaluation kit which simplifies commercial development of ZigBee, JenNet-IP and other IEEE 802.15.4 applications. Read more

December 10, 2012 Energy Micro is partnering with Lamprey Networks Inc. (LNI) to provide energy friendly, secure and certified remote monitoring medical electronic systems.
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November 20, 2012 NXP Semiconductors N.V. has unveiled the JN516x family – the company’s next generation of ultra-low-power wireless microcontrollers for JenNet-IP, ZigBee and other IEEE 802.15.4 applications. Read more

October 31, 2012 Texas Instruments Incorporated has begun sampling the first of the world’s lowest power microcontrollers based on the company’s ‘Wolverine’ technology platform. Read more

October 4, 2012 Texas Instruments Incorporated unveils the company’s latest 32-bit C2000 Concerto microcontrollers for motor control, renewable energy and smart grid applications that require power conversion, remote data sharing, diagnostics, monitoring and control from a single device. Read more

September 28, 2012 Renesas Electronics has unveiled the RH850/F1x Series of 32-bit microcontrollers for automotive body applications as the first products to be released in the RH850 Family of automotive MCUs with on-chip flash memory employing the industry's most advanced 40 nm process. Read more

September 19, 2012 NXP Semiconductors N.V. has announced the availability of its LPC408x and LPC407x microcontrollers, featuring advanced signal processing capabilities and a wide range of connectivity options, including USB 2.0, Ethernet and CAN 2.0B. Read more

September 19, 2012 Texas Instruments Incorporated has released SafeTI design packages to help customers get to market quickly with their safety-critical applications. Read more

July 20, 2012 Renesas Electronics Corporation has improved power, area and productivity by using Cadence Encounter digital technology to tape out its new generation of automotive 32-bit microcontrollers (MCU).
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July 20, 2012 Early in July 2012 Japan's Renesas Electronics Corp, the world's fifth-largest chipmaker, announced plans to reduce its workforce by 12 percent and shed half of its domestic plants within three years to be more competitive with overseas rivals. Can Europe help the company hit the road to recovery? Read more

July 9, 2012 Energy Micro has opened the company’s new design center in Kraków, Poland. The company's first engineering site outside Norway, the new facility located in Parkowa Kamienica in downtown Kraków, accommodates a group of expert embedded hardware and software engineers. Read more

June 26, 2012 NXP Semiconductors N.V. has unveiled the LPC11U30 series of easy-to-use, low-power USB microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M0 processor. Read more

May 25, 2012 Renesas Electronics has expanded its RX200 Series of low-power mid-range microcontrollers (MCUs), introducing the RX220 Group of 11 entry-level devices to provide greater scalability for embedded designers moving from 8- and 16-bit to 32-bit applications. Read more

May 23, 2012 Texas Instruments Incorporated is claiming an ultra-low-power industry first with the ULP Advisor software code analysis tool, which teaches developers how to create the most energy-efficient, ultra-low-power applications with TI's MSP430 microcontrollers. Read more

May 22, 2012 Energy Micro has forged a strategic relationship with Spectrum Design Solutions, a division of Digi International that provides wireless design services. The two companies will work together to solve customers’ wireless design challenges using the Energy Micro EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers. Read more

April 24, 2012 Energy Micro has introduced two feature rich starter kits (STKs) for designers building more complex battery-powered products such as portable health and fitness devices and smart accessories. Read more

March 29, 2012 Energy Micro has extended the company’s EFM32 Gecko range of microcontrollers with the addition of products supplied in a thin, fine-pitch BGA48 packaging. Read more

March 29, 2012 IAR Systems' C/C++ compiler and debugger tool suite IAR Embedded Workbench is now supporting the new ARM Cortex-M0+ core and Freescale Semiconductors' Kinetis L series.  Read more

February 23, 2012 Energy Micro is extending the company’s EFM32 Gecko range of microcontrollers with the addition of products based on the ARM Cortex-M4F core. Read more

February 14, 2012 Renesas Electronics has developed the V850E2/Fx4-L series which now features 19 new 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs). Designed for the automotive comfort and body segment, the low-power MCUs offer scalability and compatibility combined with sophisticated peripheral functions to provide premium automotive body solutions for applications such as roof or window lifters, door-, seat- and light modules, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and body control modules. Read more

February 8, 2012 Energy Micro and Pengutronix are planning to demonstrate µClinux for Cortex-M3, embedded Linux running on the energy friendly EFM32 Gecko range of microcontrollers at this year's Embedded World Show. Read more

February 7, 2012 Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has released two new solar kits based on its C2000 32-bit Piccolo and Concerto microcontrollers (MCUs). The new solar kits bring advanced peripherals, application-targeted development hardware, schematics, comprehensive software libraries of algorithms and an industry-leading development environment to the renewable energy market, allowing designers to easily create solar inverter designs while evaluating various solar algorithms and topologies. Read more

January 27, 2012 IAR Systems' embedded software development toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench now provides full support for Infineon Technologies' new XMC4500 microcontrollers including examples for the modular Hexagon Development Kit. Read more

December 7, 2011 SEGGER Microcontroller's high-performance embedded middleware suite is now supporting Energy Micro's range of ultra low energy ARM Cortex-M3 based EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers. Read more

December 7, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has introduced the MSP430F563x and MSP430F663x families adding more performance and features to its ultra-low-power 16-bit microcontroller portfolio. Developers can immediately take advantage of the microcontrollers’ larger memory, display capacity and analog peripherals, which enable high precision measurement and connectivity. Read more

December 1, 2011 The newest members to the ML610Q4xx series of low-power microcontrollers from LAPIS Semiconductor (formerly OKI Semiconductor) will give designers even more choices when creating products that provide comprehensive control over the operation of battery-powered devices used for the measurement and display of temperature, humidity and carbon monoxide (CO) in industrial and commercial environments. Read more

November 30, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has announced the qualification of MSP430 16-bit microcontrollers for automotive applications. The AEC-Q100 certification allows developers to integrate higher performance, power efficiency and scalability into their designs without sacrificing on price. Read more

November 23, 2011 A software tool has been introduced by Energy Micro that enables designers to accurately predict battery cell life expectancy in applications based on the company’s low power EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers. Called the energyAware Battery Estimator, the free tool provides a full simulation of total system energy usage, that takes into account actual battery source, MCU energy modes, peripherals employed and external circuit components. Read more

November 23, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has introduced a complete power management solution for TI’s C2000 real-time control, 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) and other DSP and FPGA processors. The TPS75005 highly integrated power circuit comes in a thermally enhanced 5-mm x 5-mm QFN package, combining two low-noise, 500-mA low-dropout linear regulators (LDOs) and three supply voltage supervisors to provide +/-5 percent power-rail accuracy for TI’s F2833x, F2823x, F281x, F2801x and F280x microcontroller series. Read more

November 16, 2011 In this news analysis article EE Times Europe Analog's editor, Paul Buckley questions Jan Jaap Bezemer, NXP Semiconductors' director of marketing, microcontroller product line, as to the reasons for NXP Semiconductors unveiling a series of new low-pin-count package options for the company's market-leading ARM Cortex-M0 LPC1100 family of microcontrollers.  Read more

October 28, 2011 NXP Semiconductors N.V., has introduced a series of new low-pin-count package options for the company’s market-leading ARM Cortex-M0 LPC1100 family of microcontrollers which aims to open the door for a broader range of applications previously closed to typical 32-bit MCUs due to package footprint or manufacturing constraints. The new LPC111x devices, which feature SO20, TSSOP20, TSSOP28 and DIP28 options, claim to be the world’s first 32-bit ARM microcontrollers in low-pin-count packages. Read more

September 28, 2011 Energy Micro has introduced a further 100 EFM32 Gecko energy friendly microcontrollers. Pin and code compatible with the existing Gecko and Tiny Gecko products, the new ARM Cortex-M3 based Leopard Gecko and Giant Gecko microcontrollers are available now and bring memory configurations up to 1 MB, more package choice and additional energy saving, connectivity and display driving options. Read more

September 28, 2011 Atmel Corporation has collaborated with Redpine Signals to enable system engineers to implement 802.11n Wi-Fi to all Atmel AVR and ARM-based microcontrollers (MCUs) using Redpine Signals' Connect-io-n and n-Link modules. System engineers for Atmel AVR XMEGA and AVR UC3 MCU families and Atmel SAM3 and SAM9 ARM-based MCU families can now integrate Wi-Fi capability for a variety of embedded systems in building automation, metering, digital audio and medical applications. Read more

September 27, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has introduced new sub-1 GHz 6LoWPAN solutions, aimed at providing a gateway for remote, low-cost wireless sensors to connect to the Internet and a wireless extension of wired IPv6 infrastructures. By operating in the sub-1GHz band, TI’s 6LoWPAN solutions offer longer wireless range at lower power levels than traditional 2.4 GHz-based 6LoWPAN offerings. Read more

September 14, 2011 Freescale Semiconductor is expanding its portfolio of 32-bit Kinetis microcontrollers (MCUs), based on the ARM Cortex-M4 processor, with 60 new entry-level devices that are expected to begin sampling in early 2012. The new devices are additions to the Kinetis K10 and K20 families and are the lowest power Kinetis MCUs to date, consuming 630 uA at a CPU speed of 4 MHz in low power run mode, which is equivalent to160 uA/MHz. Read more

July 27, 2011 STMicroelectronics has unveiled what the company claims is the world’s smallest combined crystal and real-time clock (RTC) IC for time, calendar and alarm functions. ST has combined the world’s smallest real-time clock die and a matched oscillator crystal in the same package size as the smallest crystal-only devices on the market today. The device delivers the world’s smallest integrated RTC/crystal, measuring only 3.2 x 1.5mm and offering ultra-low power consumption. Read more

July 22, 2011 Energy Micro continues to expand the company’s global sales network with the appointment of its first local distributor for the Russian market. Eltech will support Energy Micro's range of energy friendly ARM Cortex based EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers and EFR Draco radios for ultra low power applications. Read more

May 17, 2011 Energy Micro has introduced a starter kit for its ARM Cortex-M3 based EFM32 Tiny Gecko microcontrollers. The EFM32TG-STK3300 kit provides users with all the functionality needed to create ultra low power system designs consuming a fraction of the energy of systems using rival microcontrollers. Read more

May 5, 2011 Neonode, Inc., a leading optical touch screen technology company, is to collaborate with Texas Instruments Incorporated to develop and improve the functionality, performance and cost advantage of zForce, Neonode’s patented optical touch screen technology. Read more

May 4, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has unveiled what the company claims isthe industry’s first ultra-low-power ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) 16-bit microcontrollers. Further demonstrating TI's embedded processing leadership, the new MSP430FR57xx FRAM series ensures data can be written more than 100 times faster and uses as little as 250 times less power than flash- and EEPROM-based microcontrollers. Read more

May 2, 2011 ON Semiconductor has introduced the first in a new family of mixed-signal microcontrollers for precision measurement and monitoring. Designed for use in portable sensing applications and built with the ARM Cortex-M3 processor, the Q32M210 provides a combination of high precision performance and predictable operation with power efficiency. Read more

April 5, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated is introducing the MSP430AFE2xx series of metrology analog front end (AFE) ultra-low-power 16-bit microcontrollers. Part of TI's leading embedded processing portfolio, the low-cost MSP430AFE series offers the industry's first programmable single-phase metrology devices supported with multiple communication interfaces. Read more

March 3, 2011 Energy Micro has released its first version of Simplicity Studio, a complete software console providing instant access to all the tools, documentation, software and other resources needed in the development of systems based on its energy friendly EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers. With the objective of helping to reduce embedded system development times by a half, Simplicity Studio consolidates control of everything from source code and third party IDE through to microcontroller data sheets and application notes. Read more

March 2, 2011 Energy Micro has revealed advance details of its forthcoming energy friendly radio (EFR) product family. Complementing the company’s EFM32 Gecko microcontrollers, EFR4D Draco high performance radio solutions will consume 25% of the energy of competing products. Based on an ARM Cortex-M0 core, Draco system-on-chip (SoC) radios will achieve receive and transmit current consumption as low as 5 mA and 6 mA respectively. Read more

February 25, 2011 Renesas Electronics has announced the availability of its eight new 32-bit V850 microcontrollers (MCUs), an addition to its existing J Series. These new V850ES/Jx3-L MCUs are an extension of the low power V850ES/Jx3-L 32-bit MCUs that were introduced in early 2010. Read more

January 26, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has released 64 new ultra-low-power MSP430 Value Line microcontrollers (MCUs) that offer 16-bit performance at an 8-bit price. Read more

January 3, 2011 ON Semiconductor Corporation has completed the acquisition of SANYO Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SANYO Electric, and other assets related to SANYO Electric's semiconductor business, by ON Semiconductor.  Under the terms of the purchase agreement, ON Semiconductor paid approximately Yen 11.8 billion ($144 million) in cash to SANYO Electric and drew down approximately Yen 31.7 billion ($378 million) under a loan agreement with SANYO Electric. Read more

December 3, 2010 Renesas Electronics has joined the DALI AG (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface Activity Group), a working group formed in Germany by leading manufacturers and organizations in the field of digital control of lighting systems to promote DALI technology and applications. Read more

November 25, 2010 MSC is making available the new RL78 16-bit MCU family from Renesas Electronics which features a high processing power of 41 DMIPS (Dhrystone Million Instructions Per Second) when operating at 32 MHz and low power consumption of only 70 µA/MHz in active mode and 0.7 µA in standby mode with the real-time clock (RTC) and low-voltage detection (LVD) functions active. Read more

November 22, 2010 MSC is expanding the company’s product offering with the addition of two new groups of products in the RX600 Series of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) from Renesas Electronics. The devices include the RX630 Group for consumer, office automation and industrial equipment; and the RX63N/RX631 Group for networked equipment. Read more

November 9, 2010 Linear Technology and Energy Micro have combined their expertise in energy harvesting power supplies and ultralow power 32-bit microcontrollers to produce a demonstration at Electronica 2010 that showcases the opportunities for smart energy harvesting applications. Read more

October 19, 2010 NXP Semiconductors N.V. has unveiled new microcontrollers, which the company claims set new benchmarks in 32-bit active power consumption. The LPC1100L and LPC1300L series introduce a new low-power platform which combines ultra-low leakage design techniques with NXP's optimised power-efficient libraries. Read more

September 16, 2010 Renesas Electronics Europe has unveiled the newest MCU in the company’s M16C/6S series of microcontrollers (MCUs). The M306S0F8DGP includes integrated modems to enable low data rate communication using existing power lines. Read more

September 7, 2010 Renesas Electronics has unveiled two new 32-bit All Flash microcontrollers, with processing performance of 1024 Dhrystone MIPS at a clock speed of 200 MHz, the world's highest among the existing 32-bit dual-core MCUs with embedded flash memory. Read more

September 1, 2010 MSC has added 78 new microcontrollers based on the 32-bit V850ES core from Renesas Electronics to company’s product portfolio. The new derivatives of the V850ES/Jx3-L product family are available in a variety of different packages and memory versions. Read more

July 19, 2010 As the number of manufacturers implementing autonomous peripherals in low power MCUs rises, ARM maintains that processor cores still offer the best power/performance trade-off. Read more

July 9, 2010 IAR Systems has incorporated its new power debug and analysis tools within IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM. The new tools provide the capability to correlate current sampling alongside program execution, allowing analysis of the software's influence on power consumption and providing developers with the means to optimize source code to minimize power consumption. Read more

June 1, 2010 Microchip Technology Inc., the PIC18F "K90" 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) family--the industry's first and only low-power, 5 V, 8-bit MCUs that include an on-chip LCD driver module and 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC). Read more

June 1, 2010 Microchip Technology Inc., has unveiled what the company claims is the industry's broadest line of low-power, high-performance 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs). Read more

May 17, 2010 Linear Technology Corporation has unveiled a 1 A low dropout linear regulator (VLDO), featuring input voltage capability down to 0.9 V and adjustable output voltage down to 0.2 V. Read more

May 14, 2010 Atmel Corporation has introduced what the company claims is the world's smallest flash AVR microcontroller package. Read more

May 6, 2010 Amid strong results for the quarter, Microchip Technology Inc. has outlined its strategy for its most recent acquisition, Silicon Storage Technology (SST), saying that it will break up SST and sell many of the pieces to outside companies. Read more

April 21, 2010 Texas Instruments is aiming to accelerate time to market for a broad variety of applications, including building automation, metering and asset tracking with the introduction of its CC430F513x microcontrollers (MCUs) supported by a developer ecosystem offering complete, scalable hardware and software. Read more

April 12, 2010 NXP Semiconductors plans to demonstrate working silicon of its newest microcontrollers based on the ARM Cortex-M4 processor at ESC Silicon Valley 2010. Read more

March 2, 2010 Energy Micro (Oslo, Norway) is launching a range of entry-level devices for low power applications subject to stringent PCB space and product cost limitations. Read more

March 2, 2010 Addressing the need for energy efficiency in home automation and metering, Silicon Laboratories Inc., is claiming the industry's lowest power single-chip wireless microcontrollers (MCUs) with the introduction of its new ultra-low-power Si10xx wireless MCU family that addresses the power and RF requirements of battery-operated home automation systems, smart meters, in-home utility monitors and security systems. Read more