Digital ICs/DSP: CPU Cores In Hard IP Form Occupy Less Than 4 mm2

A pair of hard intellectual-property (IP) CPU cores now augments already available synthesizable 32-bit cores. With the MIPS32 4Kc and 4KEc hard cores, designers can economically integrate the high-performance MIPS architecture into digital consumer devices like set-top boxes, digital cameras, and digital televisions. The 4KEc core can run at 175 MHz in TSMC's 180-nm process, and the 4Kc core can run at 190 MHz in SMIC's 180-nm process. Both can be directly licensed. The 4KEc core is 3.99 mm² (including caches of 8 kbytes each for instructions and data), while the 4Kc occupies just 3.42 mm² (including caches of 8 kbytes each). Design kits are available for either core.