Freescale Kinetis 32-Bit MCU sets record in industry benchmark test

AUSTIN, USA: A device in the Freescale Semiconductor Kinetis 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) portfolio has achieved unprecedented levels of performance across the full CPU frequency range in an industry-standard benchmark test.

The Kinetis K60N512VMD100 MCU provided the first certified results for an MCU based on ARM Cortex-M4 technology using the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium’s (EEMBC) CoreMark benchmark, demonstrating exceptional core architecture performance.

The Kinetis MCU achieved test scores as high as 2.119 CoreMarks/MHz running code from flash at the maximum device frequency, representing the highest ARM Cortex-M-class result ever recorded.

Developed by EEMBC, the CoreMark benchmark uses common embedded processing functions and is specifically designed to test the functionality of a processor core. Running CoreMark produces a single-number score, allowing users to make quick comparisons between processors. CoreMark is capable of testing a processor’s pipeline structure, read/write operations, and integer and control operations.

“Freescale was the first company to bring products based on the ARM Cortex-M4 core to market, and now we’ve achieved another significant milestone,” said Geoff Lees, vice president of Freescale’s Industrial and Multi-Market MCU business. “This benchmark result further demonstrates the capability of our Kinetis MCU portfolio.”

Freescale announced the Kinetis portfolio of 90 nanometer (nm) 32-bit MCUs based on the ARM Cortex-M4 core in June 2010 and is currently providing sample quantities of six families (K10, K20, K30, K40, K50, K60). These families include a broad array of ultra-low-power MCUs with rich analog, human-machine interface, connectivity and safety and security functionality. In addition, the Kinetis ecosystem continues to expand with a comprehensive hardware and software enablement package from Freescale and leading ARM ecosystem partners.