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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →NEC Electronics said its UX7LS 55-nm CMOS process used about one-tenth the power of conventional 65-nm processes in both operating and standby modes. That was NEC’s reported claim, not an independently verified result in the sources available here. The company attributed the reduction to techniques including high-k gate insulation and control of supply and threshold voltage—not simply to shrinking the process node.
What NEC’s 55-nm process was
UX7LS was the name of NEC Electronics’ 55-nm CMOS logic process, announced in December 2005. “55 nm” refers to the process node, a generation of semiconductor manufacturing and design rules; it is not a promise that every feature or transistor in a chip measures exactly 55 nm. NEC’s 2006 technical paper describes the process and its device technology.
The paper reports a 1.2 V supply voltage, an equivalent oxide thickness of 1.85 nm, and an SRAM cell size of 0.446 µm². These are process and design details reported for UX7LS, not universal operating specifications for every chip made with it. NEC also described the process as providing more than twice the integration percentage of the 90-nm node design rule.
How much power NEC said it saved
In its December 5, 2005 report on the announcement, EE Times reported NEC’s claim that UX7LS consumed about one-tenth the power of conventional 65-nm processes in both operating and standby modes. The comparison is to those conventional 65-nm processes—not to NEC’s later 90-nm cell-based product.
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The figure should be read as a company-reported comparison. The cited coverage does not provide enough test methodology to establish matching workloads, designs, voltages, or measurement conditions, and the reviewed sources do not independently reproduce the one-tenth result.
Why shrinking the node was not enough
NEC executive Takaaki Kuwata cautioned that node scaling alone would not lower power: “Just by scaling down to 55-nm, the power consumption can not be lowered.” He attributed the result to what NEC called its Ultimate Low Power technology: “Our Ultimate Low Power technology, including the Vdd (source voltage)/Vth (threshold voltage) control and high-k technology realized low power consumption.” These are statements from 2005, not current NEC guidance.
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High-k gate insulation
High-k materials have a high dielectric constant. In a transistor gate, they can help reduce leakage current while supporting low-power operation and integration. NEC’s technical paper describes high-k gate insulation using hafnium-silicate (HfSiON) as part of the UX7LS technology.
Supply- and threshold-voltage control
Vdd is the supply voltage and Vth is the transistor threshold voltage. NEC said controlling these values as part of its low-power approach helped achieve the result. The announcement identifies the techniques but does not supply enough measurement detail to isolate how much of the claimed saving came from each one.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHow the later CB-55L claim differs
CB-55L was a cell-based IC product based on NEC’s 55-nm technology, not another name for the UX7LS process-level claim. A 2007 report described NEC’s comparison of CB-55L with its CB-90M product at 90 nm:
| Claim | Subject | Baseline | Reported result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 announcement, reported by EE Times | UX7LS process | Conventional 65-nm processes | About one-tenth the power in operating and standby modes; NEC claim |
| 2007 report by ITmedia NEWS | CB-55L cell-based IC | CB-90M at 90 nm | About 40% lower power and 20% higher speed; NEC claim |
The percentages are not interchangeable: they concern different subjects and baselines, and the reports do not provide enough common test detail for an apples-to-apples comparison. NEC’s 2007 technical journal says CB-55L had been receiving market orders since January 2007; that historical statement does not establish current availability. NEC Technical Journal’s CB-55L paper describes the product.
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What the evidence supports
The contemporaneous reports and NEC technical papers support a clear historical account: NEC presented UX7LS as a low-power 55-nm process and credited the result to a combination of device and circuit techniques, including high-k technology and Vdd/Vth control. They document NEC’s claims and technical descriptions, but not an independent replication of the headline power figure under fully specified test conditions.
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