IBM UNVEILS REVOLUTIONARY LOW-POWER CHIP TECHNOLOGIES.

IBM recently announced the first of a family of chips capable of ultra-low-power operation, providing a glimpse of the many innovative technologies the company has in the pipeline to reduce power consumption in electronic products.

Called the IBM PowerPC 405LP, the chip's innovations make it ideal for battery-powered portable consumer electronic devices. The highly integrated system-on-chip includes unique circuitry to conserve power by shutting off portions when not in use, improving power efficiency in both active and standby modes.

It also includes special processing features to make voice recognition and data encryption software work more efficiently. This reduces power while helping to eliminate tiny keypads and reducing security concerns in portable products.

IBM has been a pioneer in building more powerful, efficient chips through the use of new materials, such as copper wiring, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and low-k dielectrics. This product demonstrates the company's plan to help manufacturers conserve power through chip design techniques as well. IBM estimates this combination will lead to products that may consume ten times less power than today.

"IBM has outlined an aggressive road-map for next-generation chip technologies for consumer computing products and applications," said Lisa Su, director, Emerging Products, IBM Microelectronics. "These new low power capabilities are made possible through IBM's unique combination of design and manufacturing technologies."

IBM's low power techniques include innovations in design and technology. The 405LP reduces active power by dynamically scaling processor performance to the level required to support the application. Wherever possible, the 405LP offloads processor demands by use of hardware accelerators, and aggressively shuts off portions of the device when not in use. Standby power is improved as well. The 405LP includes a mode in which power is reduced to virtually zero while still providing "instant-on" response to an external stimulus, such as a pen stylus on a touch screen.

IBM is also exploiting its research in key areas such as advanced speech recognition and security encryption algorithms. The new chips offer the ability to incorporate functions -- such as advanced voice recognition and encryption -- into hardware for greater efficiency. System developers can use the hardware accelerators to improve performance or reduce overall power consumption, as required.

IBM's advanced security encryption algorithms have dramatically improved the safeguarding of e-business transactions with improved speed and security. Traditionally, encryption computation is done in software, slowing the process time between e-business transactions.

This processor is the first product to come from the recently announced Low-Power Computing Research Center based at IBM's Austin Research Laboratory. It demonstrates the improved flow of technology from the research laboratory through the development process and to the marketplace that has allowed IBM to capitalize on its industry-leading research capability.

Using IBM's custom chip-making techniques, additional features can also be added to the PowerPC 405LP to adapt the device to other applications. IBM's new low-power offering can reduce the cost and time required to design new products, opening the door to all types of new Internet connected consumer electronics.

As the number one supplier of ASIC (custom, "application-specific integrated circuit") chips worldwide, IBM can combine more circuitry on a single chip than any other company. IBM also has the technologies to manufacture the smallest, densest circuits in the industry, using copper wires, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors and improved "low-k" dielectric insulation.