Product category:
Intellectual Property Cores
News Release from: MIPS Technologies | Subject: MIPS32 24KE family
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 18 May 2005
Cores answer calls for embedded DSP
The MIPS32 24KE family of cores is the first to integrate the MIPS DSP application-specific extension announced last year.
MIPS Technologies has released the MIPS32 24KE family of cores, the first to integrate the MIPS DSP application-specific extension (ASE) announced last year The 24KE core family leverages the high performance 24K microarchitecture and efficiently adds DSP functionality while significantly reducing overall SoC die area, cost, and power consumption
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 23 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Traditionally, many SoCs have used a RISC CPU core for the operating system and a separate DSP core for signal processing functions.
Now, with the performance range of 400-625MHz (based on a 0.13um process) and the DSP functionality of the 24KE core family, the need for a separate DSP core is eliminated, reducing total SoC die area and simplifying system and software complexity.
With the 24KE cores, DSP performance is improved up to 200% over a range of embedded applications from voice to video, compared with RISC implementations without the DSP ASE.
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In response to customer demand for a 64bit synthesisable processor core with floating point, MIPS Technologies has introduced the MIPS64 5Kf core.
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The 24KE cores will be supported by a complete suite of software development tools, the MIPS DSP Library, and a third party DSP applications network.
Users benefit from: lower development costs, by leveraging existing host-based tools, code and infrastructure and by eliminating DSP-specific tools; increased SoC flexibility, by using a single DSP and RISC design environment, shortening the learning curve and time to market; and lower silicon area costs, by eliminating DSP and other processing cores and their dedicated resources.
"The market for programmable DSP chips reached the $ 7.8 billion mark in 2004, up some 27% over 2003, and we predict continued growth over that level for 2005", said Will Strauss, President, Forward Concepts.
"The larger market - approximately $10.4 billion - is actually for embedded DSPs, and that is a market in which more than 100 chip vendors participate".
"With the introduction of the 24KE cores, both segments represent major market opportunities for MIPS Technologies".
The introduction of the 24KE cores reinforces MIPS Technologies' position as the premier provider of the industry's highest performance licensable synthesisable cores and builds on the momentum of the rapid adoption of the 24K core family.
Since it was launched over a year ago, the 24K core family has been licensed over 18 times by OEM and semiconductor companies including Atheros, KME, LSI Logic, Micronas, PMC-Sierra, RealTek, Scientific-Atlantic and TZero.
Target markets for the 24KE cores include set-top boxes, DTVs, DVD recorders, voice switches, IP phones, digital cameras, printers, modems, residential gateways and automotive telematics.
Typical applications enhanced by the 24KE cores include voice and speech processing, narrowband, broadband, digital audio, graphics, video and imaging.
In a VoIP application, for example, the 24KE core eliminates the need for a separate DSP core, which may require a licence fee, royalties and dedicated resources.
Early access licensees of the 24KE core have already realised the power of this value proposition.
"DVD recorders, digital cameras, residential gateways and VoIP phones are just a few of the consumer products that require the increased signal and media processing horsepower the 24KE cores provide", said Russ Bell, Vice President of Marketing at MIPS Technologies.
"Because the 24KE core family can eliminate unnecessary hardware and tool chains and reduce DSP royalty payments, it's the smart choice for companies competing in today's cost-sensitive, high-volume consumer electronics market".
The 24KE core family includes the 24KEc, 24KEf, 24KEc Pro and 24KEf Pro cores.
The 24KEf core includes hardware floating point support that is fully compliant with the IEEE754 specification.
The 24KEc Pro and 24KEf Pro cores feature the CorExtend capability which allows SoC designers to add proprietary instructions and tightly coupled hardware.
Early access versions of the 24KE are available to key customers now.
General availability is scheduled for Q3 2005.
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