Description of business, including segment information (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015 Reportable_Segments	Mar. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	2
Revenue	$ 3,150	$ 2,983
Operating profit	958	690
Analog
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	2,035	1,837
Operating profit	721	498
Embedded Processing
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	672	656
Operating profit	123	52
Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	443	490
Operating profit	$ 114	$ 140