IBM takes MystiCom license, Infineon respins TriCore

IBM takes MystiCom license, Infineon respins TriCore
By Michael Santarini, EE Times
July 24, 2000 (10:06 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20000724S0006

IBM has licensed MystiCom Ltd.'s MystiPHY110, a DSP-based 10-/100-Mbit/second Ethernet physical-layer (PHY) core. According to the companies, IBM will initially offer the core as part of its 0.15-micron SA-27E ASIC product line, allowing customers to integrate the PHY into a variety of communication systems, including switches-on-chip, routers, Internet Protocol phones, xDSL access boxes and cable modems.

IBM joins Texas Instruments, Infineon Technologies and Philips Semiconductors as licensees of MystiCom's PHY. Implemented using a DSP-based design approach and standard CMOS processes, the MystiPHY110 boasts easy porting into multiple process technologies.

Visit www.mysticom.com.

Version 1.3 of Infineon Technologies' TriCore Unified Processor Core architecture has a higher operating frequency than earlier versions, a high-speed local memory bus to support increased levels of parallel-compu te operations and an enhanced coprocessor bus interface. An integrated memory management unit (MMU) supports advanced operating systems, such as Epoc32, Linux and Windows CE.

When manufactured in Infineon's 0.18-micron process technology, the single-core compute engine operates at 166 to 200 MHz. The company said the TriCore is suited for applications that previously required separate MCU and DSP components, and has already been implemented in processors for industrial computer control, automotive engine control and telecommunications.

In embedded-system applications that require both real-time microcontroller and digital signal processor functionality, the core provides raw processing rates of up to 250 Mips when operating at 166 MHz. With the addition of the MMU, additional application categories and markets are now open, the company said. Indeed, new application-specific standard products based on Version 1.3, including products using the integrated MMU, are expected to sample late in 200 0.

Infineon said it also will license the core architecture as a part of the company's open-processor intellectual-property policy. Visit www.infineon.com.

Phoenix Technologies' recent spin-off, InSilicon Corp., has added U.K.-based Vulcan ASIC Ltd. to its Authorized Design Center Program. Under the agreement, Vulcan will offer expanded design services coverage in the U.K. to licensees integrating inSilicon technology in their designs.

Based in Hertfordshire, England, Vulcan specializes in the integration of intellectual property into customer system designs-FPGAs, ASICs or fully custom ICs. It can also provide packaged IP solutions for fast time-to-market and adherence to industry standards.

Visit www.insilicon.com or www.vulcanasic.com.