Powerwise technology, developed by ARM and National Semiconductor to reduce consumption in processors, is now available for licensing, ARM said.

The first incarnation of Powerwise is the Advanced Power Controller (APC), which works with National’s power management circuits and ARM’s Intelligent Energy Manager (IEM). Processor core power can be cut by up to 75 per cent, claimed the companies.

The APC is a 10,000 gate synthesisable IP core compatible with the AMBA bus. ARM said the core automatically calibrates itself against process and temperature variations, then reducing voltage to just meet the performance requirements.

The IEM software is linked to the operating system and applications, and is able to dynamically predict the required processor performance. It then reduces clock frequency to meet this target.

“These technologies from National and ARM are independent of semiconductor process and temperature making them important to designers focused on extending the battery life of multi-featured cell phones and other handheld devices,” said Max Baron, principal analyst at Instat-MDR.