MUMBAI: The Indian research arm of global semi-conductor manufacturing leader Texas Instruments has achieved a breakthrough: enhancing the processing and memory power of ultra-low power micro-controllers.

The breakthrough generation of the ultra-low power micro-controllers can aid thousands of applications in fields as diverse as medicine, security, home automation and consumer goods, the company said on Monday.

"The new generation micro-controllers will have 50 per cent more processing performance and a 100 per cent enhancement of memory as compared to previous generations," a spokesperson said. Power consumption has also been brought down, he added.

TI (India) business development manager, Shailesh Thakurdesai, said performance of devices like panel meters, 3-phase meters, UPS and inverters, LED lighting, portable ultrasound scanners, electronic thermometers, wind and solar power generators, surveillance equipment and similar gadgets would "be enhanced to quite a considerable extent."

Texas Instruments set up a research and development facility in Bangalore in 1985. "Since 2006, the Indian research arm has become the most critical R&D for TI globally," the spokesperson said.

The Indian analog semiconductor market is estimated to touch $437 million by 2009.