Architecture cuts signal processing real estate

Elixent unveiled details of its next generation D-Fabrix reconfigurable algorithm processing (RAP) architecture this week at In-Stat's Spring Processor Forum in San Jose, California.

Elixent unveiled details of its next generation D-Fabrix reconfigurable algorithm processing (RAP) architecture this week at In-Stat's Spring Processor Forum in San Jose, California.

The D-Fabrix v2.0 architecture allows designers to implement signal processing algorithms in half the silicon area required by previous reconfigurable systems, and with substantially reduced power consumption.

D-Fabrix v2.0 was developed after a detailed analysis of Elixent customers' applications of reconfigurable processing, focusing in particular on the needs of the mobile multimedia and communications.

Products in this field increasingly need to serve a variety of functions - for instance combining a camera with a mobile telephone - and hence require chips which can implement a corresponding range of signal processing algorithms.

The new architecture includes improved routing and switching resources and extra support for bit-level operations.

The result is an effective doubling of performance density over a range of common signal processing algorithms - although some functions may see the silicon area required reduced by as much as a factor of four.

In addition, power requirements are typically a third lower than the previous version of D Fabrix (v1.2) where lower power was already a major feature.

In combination, these advances make reconfigurable processing a real cost-saving alternative for ASIC designers in mobile multimedia and communications applications.

"D-Fabrix v2.0 changes the cost equation for SoC designers", said Kenn Lamb, CEO of Elixent.

"It brings reconfigurable processing into the mainstream of algorithm processing, with savings for the designer in terms of device real-estate and power consumption".

Will Strauss, President of Forward Concepts, said: "There have been many attempts at building viable reconfigurable platforms".

"Based on the announcements to date, it looks like Elixent may be the first to move the capability into high volume consumer applications".

Key Elixent customers are already designing with D-Fabrix v2.0, which is fully supported by Elixent's comprehensive design tool chain.

The architecture is available on widely variant 130nm processes from a number of manufacturers.

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