Cadence’s Tensilica Fusion DSP architecture is aimed squarely at new Internet of Things (IoT) applications, as well as wearables and communication apps. The dual-issue, VLIW platform (Fig. 1) is designed for low-power operation. The system is highly customizable with configurations generating a complete, customized Xtensa tool suite and runtime support package. The instruction-set architecture (ISA) is design for extensibility and a number of options are available as well, including support for multiple wireless protocols including Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread, and Zigbee using IEEE 802.15.4, SmartGrid 802.15.4g, Wi-Fi 802.11n and 802.11ah, 2G and LTE Category 0 release 12 and 13, and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
The core is a dual-issue, VLIW processor based on Cadence’s Tensilica HiFi 3 architecture. The VLIW features are only used when required to reduce code size and increase overall system efficiency. The MAC support can be configured for single 32- by 32-bit operation or dual configurations of 32- by 16-bit, 24- by 24-bit, and 16- by 16-bit.
In addition to the core, Cadence can provide a number of integrated modules. These include single-precision floating point support, AES-128 encryption, and baseband bit operations for MAC and PHY algorithm acceleration. There is also audio/voice compatibility with the Tensilica HiFi audio DSP architecture. The floating-point implementation runs in parallel with 64-bit load/store operations.