Smallest 32bit processor core
Said to be the smallest licensable 32bit processor core based on an industry standard architecture, the Diamond Standard 106Micro core takes up only 0.26mm² in a 130nm G process and 0.13mm² in a 90nm G process. this, says Tensilica, makes it smaller than the ARM7 or Cortex-M3 cores, yet at 1.22 Dhrystone MIPS/MHz, it delivers higher performance than the ARM9E cores.
The core is designed for simple controller applications in SoCs and said to be suitable for use by designers migrating from 8 and 16bit microcontrollers to 32bit processors.
“In many SoC applications, the smallest possible microcontroller is all that’s needed to coordinate the various tasks being performed on the chip,” explained Chris Rowen, Tensilica’s president and CEO. “By leveraging our core configurable processor technology, we were able to quickly create this new core with the smallest footprint in the industry.”
The core, which employs a five stage pipeline, can run at up to 250MHz in 130G process and at up to 400MHz in 90G process technology.