[Updated Aug. 17, 2004] — The market for 64-bit embedded processors will grow rapidly, fueled by demand for cellular handsets, PCs, and DVD players, according to a report from In-Stat/MDR. Ironically, the report also found that ARM leads the 64-bit microprocessor market — even though it lacks a 64-bit product.

According to In-Stat/MDR, the “customer-specific, cell-based 64-bit embedded processor market” will see a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 82.7 percent between 2003 and 2008, increasing from $91.2 million in 2003 to $1.86 billion in 2008. The overall semiconductor industry, in contrast, is forecast to see a modest CAGR during the same period of only 6.1 percent.

Currently, few single-core 64-bit embedded processors have reached market. As a result, two 32-bit embedded processors are often ganged in designs that require 64-bits of bandwidth, according to InStat/MDR. This phenomenon has ironically allowed ARM to take an early lead in the market for 64-bit solutions, despite the fact that it does not currently ship a 64-bit product.

ARM competitor MIPS has shipped a 64-bit design, and Toshiba has marketed several MIPS64-based embedded processors, including the TX9956CXBG announced last month, that support embedded Linux. An ARM spokesperson said the company has not announced a 64-bit part. IBM will market a 64-bit product in the first half of 2004, according to InStat/MDR principal analyst Jerry Worchel.

Worchel said, “Most manufacturers today are using two 32-bit width processors rather than a true 64-bit width MPU, but this will change rapidly over the next two years as more move to true 64-bit technology.”

Worchel continues, “Similar to its predecessors, the 4-bit, 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit embedded processors, the greatest growth opportunity for the 64-bit width processor will be in a wide variety of Application-Specific Standard Products (ASSPs), which are already beginning to emerge. In addition, it is important to recognize that changes in recent years have resulted in the communications market, rather than the computer market, becoming the industry driver of the future.”

The findings above are from In-Stat/MDR's report “Embedded 64-Bit Microprocessors In Customer-Specific, Cell-Based Designs: Upping The Bandwidth,” which can be purchased online.

 
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