Rethinking Applications Processing for Ultra-Low Power - i.MX 7ULP

White Paper Overview

Every designer knows that you can’t increase a processor’s speed without increasing its power consumption. Slow the clock to save power, and performance sinks. Compensate by doing more work per cycle, and power rises back up. Jettison functions, and the power goes down — and with it the chip’s usefulness. Similarly, ease of use dwindles if developers must rely solely on bare-metal code executing on an MCU-class core to eke out performance with less overhead instead of having the option to write rich applications running on a high-level OS. Ultimately, compromise is almost always inevitable in a world of tradeoffs governed by the laws of physics.

All that being said, NXP discovered a solution to the aforementioned challenges by rethinking the application processor. NXP built the i.MX 7ULP applications processor with a singular focus on ultra-low power — in all modes, regardless of whether the processor is running or standing by.

This white paper discusses how NXP was able to reduce power without severely compromising features and performance dramatically. It also provides a closer look at how the i.MX 7ULP applications processor brings the benefits of a rich OS to battery-powered devices.

If you want to learn more about NXP's i.MX 7ULP click HERE.