SiFive Joins Microsemi's New Mi-V Ecosystem to Accelerate Adoption of RISC-V Open Instruction Set Architecture
Companies Leverage Strategic Relationship to Create Jointly Developed Platform and Roadmap to Continued Cooperation
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Dec. 7, 2017 -- Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today announced SiFive, the first fabless provider of customized, open-source-enabled semiconductors, has joined Microsemi's new Mi-V™ RISC-V ecosystem, further building out the growing ecosystem and expanding the number of RISC-V designs users can consider. Microsemi will leverage its strategic relationship with SiFive and other ecosystem participants to increase adoption of RISC-V open instruction set architecture (ISA) central processing units (CPUs) and maximize their leadership positions with this expanding design technology.
Ad |
RISC-V Processor - RV12 - 32/64 bit, Single Core CPU Compact Implementation of the RISC-V RV32IMC ISA |
As part of their collaboration within the Mi-V ecosystem, SiFive and Microsemi are jointly creating the HiFive Unleashed, a hardware and software development platform based on SiFive's Freedom Unleashed 500 (Freedom U500) system-on-chip (SoC) featuring the U54-MC RISC-V Core IP (intellectual property) as well as Microsemi's lowest power, cost-optimized mid-range PolarFire® field programmable gate array (FPGA). The collaboration and development platform will enable firmware, kernel and driver development engineers to develop their own RISC-V designs with operating systems such as Linux. The Microsemi/SiFive platform with its open ISA and core architecture will be ideal for a variety of applications within the aerospace and defense, industrial and security markets, including industrial internet of things (IoT), security and trust, space, industrial controls and avionics.
"Microsemi is pleased to welcome SiFive to our Mi-V RISC-V ecosystem as a highly valued collaborator on processor IP," said Jim Aralis, chief technology officer and vice president of advanced development at Microsemi. "The company's RISC-V leadership, expertise and development model support our team's ability to innovate quickly, offer lower power solutions and meet the demands of the marketplace. Working with SiFive also enables us to deliver a stronger RISC-V IP roadmap along with the integration of software integrated development environments (IDEs), debug and design platforms that can be used."
SiFive's Freedom U500 SoC consists of a five-core, 64-bit RISC-V CPU with coherent 2MB L2 cache subsystem, plus DDR4, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and ChipLink interfaces. Running at over 1.5 GHz, the Freedom U500 is the first RISC-V-based, Linux-capable SoC on the market. Microsemi's PolarFire FPGAs are cost-optimized, lowest power, mid-range density devices making them ideal for developing a wide variety of RISC-V-based applications. The PolarFire FPGA will interface to the SiFive Freedom U500 via a ChipLink interconnect and a variety of additional peripherals will be supported.
"Joining the Mi-V RISC-V ecosystem enhances our important relationship with Microsemi while enabling the strategic alignment of our roadmap to facilitate additional end markets and applications for RISC-V designs," said Naveed Sherwani, CEO, SiFive. "We look forward to continuing our collaborative successes as we develop this unique hardware and software development platform and empower a growing number of system developers with access to RISC-V technology."
RISC-V, an ISA which is a standard open architecture under the governance of the RISC-V Foundation, offers numerous benefits, including portability as well as enabling the open source community to test and improve cores at a faster pace than closed ISAs. As the ISA is frozen, software which is written will always run on the RISC-V core, and since the RISC-V IP core is not encrypted, it can be used to ensure trust and certifications not possible with closed architectures.
"Interest in RISC-V is growing rapidly, with most leading semiconductor companies already supporting the RISC-V Foundation," said Linley Gwennap, principal analyst of The Linley Group. "As these companies start new designs, they create opportunities for ecosystem suppliers to support them."
About Microsemi's Mi-V Ecosystem
Microsemi's Mi-V ecosystem, part of Microsemi's Accelerate Ecosystem—a program designed to reduce time to market for end customers and time to revenue for ecosystem participants—brings together a number of industry leaders involved in the development of RISC-V to leverage their capabilities and streamline RISC-V designs for customers. Enabling third parties to access a growing platform for further RISC-V adoption and innovation, the Mi-V ecosystem provides firmware and hardware engineers a comprehensive ecosystem from a tier-one vendor.
Product Availability
The jointly developed HiFive Unleashed hardware and software development platform from Microsemi and SiFive based on SiFive's Freedom Unleashed 500 SoC featuring the U54-MC RISC-V Core IP and Microsemi's PolarFire FPGA will be available in the first quarter of 2018. For more information, email MiVLinuxDevKit@microsemi.com.
About Microsemi
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for aerospace & defense, communications, data center and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world's standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California and has approximately 4,800 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.
|
Related News
- Microsemi's Mi-V Ecosystem Continues to Expand as New Member Antmicro Joins to Develop Mi-V RISC-V Processor Subsystems for PolarFire FPGAs
- Microsemi Launches Mi-V Ecosystem to Accelerate Adoption of RISC-V
- Microsemi Announces SoftConsole v5.1, the World's First Freely Available Windows-Hosted Eclipse Integrated Development Environment Supporting RISC-V Open Instruction Set Architecture
- SiFive and Arkmicro Accelerate RISC-V Adoption in Automotive Electronics with SiFive's Automotive IP for the High-end SoC Market
- The Industry's First SoC FPGA Development Kit Based on the RISC-V Instruction Set Architecture is Now Available
Breaking News
- JEDEC Publishes LPDDR5 CAMM2 Connector Performance Standard
- Alphawave Semi Selected for AI Innovation Research Grant from UK Government's Advanced Research + Invention Agency
- Weebit Nano continuing to make progress with potential customers and qualifying its technology Moving closer to finalisation of licensing agreements Q1 FY25 Quarterly Activities Report
- PiMCHIP Deploys Ceva Sensor Hub DSP in New Edge AI SoC
- Secure-IC obtains the first worldwide CAVP Certification of Post-Quantum Cryptography algorithms, tested by SERMA Safety & Security
Most Popular
- DENSO and U.S. Startup Quadric Sign Development License Agreement for AI Semiconductor (NPU)
- Xiphera and Crypto Quantique Announce Partnership for Quantum-Resilient Hardware Trust Engines
- Arm's power play will backfire
- Alchip Announces Successful 2nm Test Chip Tapeout
- Faraday Unveils HiSpeedKit™-HS Platform for High-speed Interface IP Verification in SoCs
E-mail This Article | Printer-Friendly Page |