Fujitsu backs Transmeta power management

Transmeta Corporation today announced that Fujitsu has licensed its LongRun2 power management system.

Fujitsu will use the technology, which reduces the problems of excessive chip heat and transistor leakage, in current and forthcoming semiconductor products.

LongRun2 works by dynamically adjusting processor clock speed and voltage hundreds of times per second to reduce power consumption.

Transmeta claims that the technology can improve semiconductor devices by reducing total chip power, standby power and burn-in power, potentially improving chip performance and reducing manufacturing costs.

"Transmeta's LongRun2 technologies are a major practical innovation designed to address the leakage problem facing the industry, and will enable continued scaling of semiconductors to smaller geometries," said Bijan Moslehi, senior vice president of the Noblemen Semiconductor Technology Research Division.

Matthew Perry, president and chief executive at Transmeta, added: "In reaching for even smaller transistor geometries, Fujitsu saw that transistor leakage would become a critical issue to solve."

Toshihiko Ono, group president of Fujitsu's Electronic Devices Business Group, said that the technology would benefit the firm's ASIC, CPU and foundry customers.