June 7, 2012, Seoul, Korea – Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL, www.freescale.com ) has expanded its Kinetis microcontroller (MCU) family by announcing the industry's first ARM® Cortex™-M4 processor-based solution suitable for smart energy, smart metering, and building management applications. Freescale's next-generation Kinetis wireless solution provides both performance and security on a highly scalable ZigBee® platform, allowing designers to optimize solutions for specific applications.

Freescale designed the Kinetis KW20 wireless MCU family to meet the increased processing and memory demands associated with future ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 and Internet protocol specifications. The Kinetis KW20 wireless MCU combines an ARM Cortex-M4 processor, a best-in-class MC13242 RF transceiver, and a powerful feature set to provide a reliable and secure low-power ZigBee platform. Designers can design devices more flexibly to suit specific application requirements by selecting a KW20 MCU single-chip solution or combining RF transceivers with appropriate Kinetis MCUs.

Bruno Baylac, Head of Freescale’s Metering, Healthcare, and Connectivity Solutions business unit, stated, “The Kinetis KW20 wireless MCU provides designers with the greatest flexibility while delivering the performance to handle the memory and security requirements of smart energy applications. By integrating ZigBee connectivity into the award-winning Kinetis MCU family, Freescale supports customers in designing future-proof systems while securing higher-performance wireless capabilities and additional security features.”