Electronica 2008 - Read our full show coverage from Munich
Next year, Tundra Semiconductor intends to come out with a bridge chip which links Rapid I/O and PCI Express.
"There's huge demand for it", said Tundra's Tracy Richardson on the company's stand at Electronica, "from people who want to use a mix of processors."
PCI Express goes into workstations, servers, security systems - anything with an x86 processor in it.
Rapid I/O goes into the wireless market, for instance base stations and products where PowerPC is the usual processor.
Tundra is now putting its focus onto Rapid I/O and PCI Express rather than VME, and is working on new generations of both. The second generation Rapid I/O takes speeds from3.125Gbit/sec to 6.25Gbit/sec.
According to Richardson, one can 'make the assumption' that the new generation will be on the market in 2010.
The second generation PCI Express takes speeds from 2.5Gbits/sec to 5Gbits/sec and this is due out in Spring 2009.
Tundra mostly sells ICs but it is not averse to licensing its IP. "IP licensing is a tool not a strategic direction", said Richardson. Revenues from licensing IP amount to only 5 per cent of Tundra's revenues.
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