Morgan Kaufmann Publishes Tensilica Book Targeting SOC Designers

Update: Cadence Completes Acquisition of Tensilica (Apr 24, 2013)

Author Steve Leibson's ''Designing SOCs with Configured Cores: Unleashing the Tensilica Xtensa and Diamond Cores'' Serves as Guide to Newest SOC Design Styles

SANTA CLARA, CA, – July 11, 2006 – Tensilica, Inc. announced today the availability of “Designing SOCs with Configured Cores: Unleashing the Tensilica Xtensa and Diamond Cores,” the newest book written by Steve Leibson, technology evangelist at Tensilica. The book is a no-nonsense guide to the design of 21st-century mega-gate SOCs using nanometer silicon and emphasizes a processor-centric system on chip (SOC) design style. “Designing SOCs with Configured Cores” also provides SOC designers with the most comprehensive assessment available of the practical aspects of configuring and using multiple processor cores to achieve their very difficult and ambitious price, performance, and power design goals.

The book, published by Morgan Kaufmann, provides SOC designers with a practical introduction to three basic techniques of modern SOC design: use of optimized standard CPU and DSP processors cores, application-specific configuration of processor cores, and system-level design of SOCs using configured cores as the key building block. The book has a list price of $59.95 and is available at www.books.elsevier.com.

“Today’s SOC designer has multiple design options and must decide when and how to use either standard or configurable cores,” stated Chris Rowen, president and CEO of Tensilica. “This book is an essential reference for SOC designers, who will find it is often the first book they reach for in defining and designing their next chip.”

“Designing SOCs with Configured Cores” discusses the key issues affecting today’s SOC designs, based on Leibson’s decades of experience as a design engineer, engineering manager, and as a technical editor and analyst at EDN Magazine and The Microprocessor Report. The book advocates the assignment of tasks to firmware-controlled processors whenever possible to maximize SOC flexibility, cut power dissipation, reduce the size and number of hand-built logic blocks, shrink the associated verification effort, and minimize the overall design risk.

“Steve Leibson's book is a gentle introduction to the art of digital electronics design, capturing an important moment in the creation of the complete SOC,” stated Max Baron, senior analyst at The Microprocessor Report. “Generously dotted with block diagrams and snippets of code using the vehicle furnished by Xtensa technology, the book takes the reader through the evolution that led to multiple cores and configurable engines.”

About Tensilica

Tensilica offers the broadest line of controller, CPU and specialty DSP processors on the market today, in both an off-the-shelf format via the Diamond Standard Series cores and with full designer configurability with the Xtensa processor family. Tensilica’s low-power, benchmark-proven processors have been designed into high-volume products at industry leading companies in the digital consumer, networking and telecommunications markets. All Tensilica processor cores are complete with a matching software development tool environment, portfolio of system simulation models, and hardware implementation tool support. For more information on Tensilica's patented approach to the creation of application-specific building blocks for SOC design, visit www.tensilica.com.