Next50
We are all familiar with the length of time required to restart a PC or gaming device once it has been turned off. ROHM’s new nonvolatile CPU ensures such a device can restart instantly once it has been turned on, even a gaming device that was suddenly turned off. A device incorporating this completely new CPU requires no data backup step before being turned off.
The secret is the use of a high-dielectric “nonvolatile” device in the memory circuits inside the CPU that retains its data when the power is turned off. While such high-dielectric devices have already been incorporated in some memory systems, ROHM is the first to incorporate a high-dielectric device in a CPU.
Another innovative feature of the nonvolatile CPU is its exceptional energy efficiency. Although a CPU might appear to be constantly in operation, it actually cycles between busy and wait states. Because data is retained even when the device is powered off, CPU power demand can even be reduced during wait states of less than 10 milliseconds. While the operation of the device remains the same, the CPU actually cycles between on and off states at an extremely high frequency to achieve increased energy efficiency.
As CPU processing speeds have increased, so has energy consumption. ROHM's new nonvolatile CPU achieves exceptional energy efficiency while maintaining high processing speed. Since this new technology can be applied not only to CPUs but also to all logic ICs, it is expected to find wide application.
Applying this new technology to logic ICs can cut energy demand dramatically. The scope of application is expanding to include sensors as well as mobile phones, gaming devices, and other mobile devices.
