STMicroelectronics and Ember Corporation are teaming up to jointly develop a portfolio of ZigBee products.

A wireless standard designed for remote monitoring, control and sensor network applications, ZigBee was initially planned for home automation, but initial applications have focus on lighting in industrial and commercial settings.

Through the new agreement ST and Ember will co-develop a complete roadmap of next generation ZigBee products that include hardware, software and tools. The non-exclusive partnership combines Ember’s expertise and IP in 802.15.4/ZigBee radio hardware and software and ST’s semiconductor technology and development capabilities together with that company’s global manufacturing and marketing resources, the companies said in a statement.

"ST's decision to work with Ember in serving the ZigBee market is a huge validation for both Ember and ZigBee," said Adrian Tuck, Ember's executive v-p, in a statement. "This relationship will enable Ember to access the vast resources of an industry giant with dozens of advanced R&D centers, design centers, cutting-edge manufacturing technology, and sales offices in 36 countries."

STMicroelectronics also announced it is to take a leading role in a European Integrated Project called CLEAN (Controlling Leakage power in NanoCMOS SoCs).

The three-year research project, co-funded by the European Commission, aims to extend battery life and reduce the power consumed by electronics by finding solutions to controlling leakage currents in CMOS designs below 65nm.

The project’s leader Roberto Zafalon, R&D program manager of advanced system technology at STMicroelectronics. “The project’s outcome will allow the decrease of power consumption in next-generation devices and, at the same time, increase design productivity, thus improving the manageability of the additional complexity of these devices.”

ST will manage and co-ordinate the activities of a consortium of 14 European partners, which features semiconductor vendors, EDA vendors, and academic and research institutes.

www.st.com