Welcome to the Third Era of 32/64-bit Embedded CPUs
By Woz Ahmed, Imagination Technologies
EETimes (April 7, 2020)
The first two eras of 32/64-bit embedded processors were defined by proprietary architectures. The third won’t be.
During the First Era of 32/64-bit embedded CPUs, which spanned the 1980s and 1990s, semiconductor companies developed and maintained their own proprietary CPU architectures. And there were many of them. The cost of maintaining these architectures became increasingly burdensome, and third-party operating software vendors were — for reasons of their own, involving costs, complexity and ROI — unwilling to support multiple unique CPU architectures. The cost crunch and lack of third-party software support encouraged companies to abandon their proprietary architectures and license processor intellectual property (IP).
This led to the Second Era, during the late 1990s and 2000s, of licensing proprietary processor architectures. Companies such as Arm, ARC, Andes, MIPS, Tensilica, and others offered licenses to their proprietary processor cores. Arm offered an architecture license, which gave customers the right to develop their own implementation using the vendor’s “blueprints.”
E-mail This Article | Printer-Friendly Page |
|
Imagination Technologies Group plc Hot IP
Related News
- MIPS Technologies and Agilent Technologies Announce Agreement on 32- and 64-Bit MIPS-Based Embedded Processor Cores
- SEGGER adds 64-bit RISC-V support to Embedded Studio
- IAR Systems introduces 64-bit Arm core support in leading embedded development tools
- Synopsys Introduces New 64-bit ARC Processor IP Delivering Up to 3x Performance Increase for High-End Embedded Applications
- SiFive Launches the World's Smallest Commercial 64-bit Embedded Core
Breaking News
- TSMC plans 1.6nm process for 2026
- Qualitas Semiconductor Partners with TUV Rheinland Korea to Enhance ISO 26262 Functional Safety Management System
- M31 has successfully launched MIPI C/D PHY Combo IP on the advanced TSMC 5nm process
- Ceva multi-protocol wireless IP could simplify IoT MCU and SoC development
- Controversial former Arm China CEO founds RISC-V chip startup
Most Popular
- Controversial former Arm China CEO founds RISC-V chip startup
- Siemens collaborates with TSMC on design tool certifications for the foundry's newest processes and other enablement milestones
- Credo at TSMC 2024 North America Technology Symposium
- Synopsys Accelerates Next-Level Chip Innovation on TSMC Advanced Processes
- Kalray Joins Arm Total Design, Extending Collaboration with Arm on Accelerated AI Processing