picoTurbo Introduces Advanced RISC Processor Cores; Capable of Executing ARM Instruction Set With Greater Performance

Business Wire, April 10, 2000

Business Editors/High-tech Writers

MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2000

picoTurbo, Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up founded to develop, design and market 32-bit RISC processors, announced today that it is introducing its product line.

The picoTurbo microprocessors, designed specifically for the Silicon Intellectual Property (IP) market, are the first products from an alternate source that offer the capability of executing the ARM(R) v4T Instruction Set.

The picoTurbo family of processors feature higher performance; integrated power management and a compact die size. According to Hong-Yi Chen, Chief Technology Officer and Founder, "We developed these products in a total 'clean room' environment and they are original works of development. We saw that there was huge market demand for embedded processors and that the market was looking for lower-cost, higher performance alternatives to ARM(R) processors. It was our goal and aim to provide the semiconductor industry with a 'better IP solution', which allows designers and developers to rapidly integrate a microprocessor core with the least amount of effort. Since all of our products are capable of executing the ARM(R) Instruction Set, potential customers who have used ARM(R) products will be able to easily switch to the picoTurbo cores. The only real difference they will see is a probable increase in performance."

"The introduction of the picoTurbo products enables the customer to have a choice. All of the research that we did before forming the company indicated that the demand for embedded 32-bit RISC processors was growing at an explosive rate and that there has been no customer alternative for the ARM(R) product line. Today, the semiconductor designer has a new choice and our products offer performance, integrated power management and lower cost advantages," said Ernie Besso, Vice President of Sales. Further, Besso stated, "We have worked very hard to discover a 'better IP solution' and have created a number of unique porting solutions with an innovative business and licensing model that provides flexibility and a total 'win-win' scenario."

picoTurbo Product Features

The picoTurbo product line is comprised of two innovative 32-bit RISC processor cores, the pT-100 and the pT-110 which are available in a fully synthesizble, Verilog RTL format. The pT-100 executes the ARM(R) 7 TDMI(TM) Instruction Set, including the Thumb(TM) extensions. The core, in .18u process, is only .9 millimeter square and offers a very efficient power consumption of .45mW/MHz. Built around a 5-stage pipeline, the pT-100 operates at a worst-case frequency of 100 MHz. Power management is integrated into the fully static core and offers designers the ability to disable the processor when it is not required.

The picoTurbo pT-110 also executes the ARM(R) v4T Instruction Set while offering a user-configurable Instruction and Data cache. The Instruction and Data cache can be configured in .5kb increments to a total of 32kb each. The flexibility of this feature enables designers to choose from a number of options, such as cache lock down or data streaming, to reduce access time to both data and instructions. Power management is integrated and Built-In-Self-Test is included for the cache. The pT-110 has a typical frequency of 250 MHz in a .25u process and is fully capable of 300 MHz when fabricated in an .18u process.

"We have met or exceeded every design goal that we set," said Hong-Yi Chen, CTO and Founder. "We have worked extremely hard to provide power efficient products that offer the maximum in performance with the minimum in die size. The pT-110 outperforms the ARM(R) 7(TM) and competes very well with the StrongARM(R) processors."

Testing and Validation

All picoTurbo products have undergone stringent and rigorous testing before release to the market. The pT-100 and pT-110 have been thoroughly tested and validated in silicon and with all major Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS) such as Wind River VxWorks(TM) and Integrated Systems' Psos(TM). According to Leo Jiang, Manager of Systems Integration for picoTurbo, "We have tested our products with all of the major vendors and have yet to find a problem. The work is on going and we are testing and validating new RTOS and applications on a scheduled basis. The customer can be assured that our products can be easily integrated into their designs and that they will encounter no difficulties."

Business Model

picoTurbo has developed a unique and innovative business model that is focused on providing the IP customer with flexible licensing options. Based on three different porting mechanisms, the customer can choose from a number of options that fit their budget and development schedule. "The firm macro that we have developed, offers the customer the best of all scenarios," said Hong-Yi Chen, CTO and Founder. "This porting option enables the customer to synthesize the core to different fabrication facilities, aspect ratios and processes. The customer no longer has to spend significant sums of money on NRE, our firm macro allows them to avoid this cost by controlling their design methodology."