A maker of licensable DSP (digital signal processor) cores this week unveiled its next generation architecture for use in SoCs (system-on-chips) targeting high-performance mobile phones and portable multimedia devices. The StarCore V5 architecture is scalable to over 1 GHz, and includes an MMU function that allows it to run Linux, according to the company.

The first implementation of the V5 architecture is the SC3000 Family, which boasts faster clock rates, lower power consumption, less stringent memory interface requirements, and easier programming, relative to the company's previous DSP IP cores.

Variable length instructions

According to a presentation delivered by the company at the Fall Processor Forum (FPF) in San Jose, Calif. this week, the new V5 DSP architecture offers a code density approaching that of ARM Thumb, as seen in the following table.

According to StarCore, a key to the efficiency of its DSP cores' instruction execution is the use of variable length execution set (VLES).

The company explains: “First, the VLES prefix mechanism gives the programmer or compiler a tool for minimizing the space required for encoding instructions. When using VLESes, you only need add encoding bits when you wish to make use of higher registers, conditional execution, or zero-overhead loops. Prefixes also enable transparent extensions to the instruction set in future StarCore architectures. StarCore code written today will run on next-generation cores. Finally, the VLES software model provides the developer with an architecture that is easy to program. Its orthogonal instructions and execution resources eliminate the hassle of explicitly scheduling instructions to execution units or ensuring data availability. Such an environment enables quicker time-to-market with reduced likelihood of scheduling errors.”

Does it run Linux?

Although the company does not currently have Linux running on the V5 architecture-based SC3000 cores, its promotional material states that the V5 architecture's “memory-management system makes it easy to support sophistacted operating systems, such as Linux.”

Linux has been successfully ported to run natively on DSPs from Texas Instruments (TI) and from Analog Devices Inc. (ADI).

Availability

StarCore says it provides its processor cores and related IP functional blocks in a synthesizable format that can be targeted to any silicon foundry technology, according to the company. Processor cores and related functional blocks based on the new StarCore V5 architecture will be available in early 2006, the company said.

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