Dolphin Integration launches a new breed of cache controller, dynamically self-configured to minimize power consumption

Grenoble, November 6th, 2009 -- The Enabler of mixed signal Systems-on-Chip proposes a new breed of cache controller, dynamically self-configured to minimize power consumption.

Traditional cache controllers are offered to improve the system frequency, involving a CPU and its program memory. But these caches are not concerned with power consumption. As a consequence, these solutions do not fit applications targeting low power.

To bridge this gap, Dolphin Integration offers a new breed of cache controller: I-Stratus-LP.

It reduces power consumption up to 8 times compared with a system without any cache, and up to 4 times compared with a system containing a conventional cache.

Moreover, I-Stratus-LP is dynamically self-configured. During the run of the application program, it smartly adapts its configuration in real-time for reaching the lowest power consumption with each sub-programs. As a result, not only its use is really easy but also the choice between its options is reduced to gross architectural dimensions (e.g. 16 bit CPU): no need for detailed knowledge to choose the best configuration, I-Status-LP will do it on-line!

This innovation enables a SoC designer to use the same solution in different projects without spending time for each of them to define the cache controller parameters (associativity, cache line size, cache memory capacity etc.). Not only it reduces costs as investment and training expenses, but also these savings in development times reduce significantly Time-To-Market.

“I-Stratus-LP satisfies customers a single application program needing more than the average performances expected from a rigid cache configuration. The dynamical self-configuration enables to fit each variation of the application program,” confides Aurelie Descombes, Product Manager for microcontrollers at Dolphin Integration. “But I-Stratus-LP enables to develop a SoC intended to support multiple application programs as well. Thanks to the block-busting cache solution from Dolphin Integration, the power consumption is minimized whatever the contents of the application program.”

In order to benefit from a free evaluation or if you want more information, click here or contact logic@dolphin.fr.