Goodwill and acquisition-related intangibles - Goodwill (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, net	$ 4,362,000,000us-gaap_Goodwill	$ 4,362,000,000us-gaap_Goodwill
Goodwill impairment loss	0us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss	0us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss	90,000,000us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss
Accumulated impairment of goodwill	90,000,000	90,000,000
Analog
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, net	4,158,000,000	4,158,000,000
Embedded Processing
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, net	172,000,000	172,000,000
Other
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, net	$ 32,000,000	$ 32,000,000

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 350

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

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Amount of accumulated impairment loss for an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 350

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-Paragraph 1

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Amount of loss from the write-down of an asset representing the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

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