ClearSpeed, the computer accelerator chip specialist, is licensing its next generation of accelerator technology to BAE Systems in a deal which extends the ClearSpeed business model from hardware vendor to IP licensor.

"It's great to have a deal which endorses our next design, even before we've released it to the world," Tom Beese, CEO of ClearSpeed, told EW.

BAE Systems has spent two years examining options for satellite-based electronics systems and decided on the Bristol-based firm's accelerator chip technology.

"The technology has a unique combination of very high performance, power efficiency and full programmability," said BAE's director of advanced digital systems, George Nossaman.

The IP firm is providing BAE with a licence for its next generation core, and the tools to tweak it to the particular requirements of the system to withstand extreme radiation and temperature found in space.

Up to now ClearSpeed's approach has been that of a fabless chip company designing, making and selling chips and boards, principally into computing applications. This is the company's first licensing deal.

"It's a natural extension of our business model," said Beese, "ours should be a technology that goes well into the embedded area." Beese expects the example of the BAE deal will encourage others to go for licensing deals.

"We have kept various people briefed about our technology road-map, so we can see when it might meet their market needs," said Beese. "I expect other people who have been tracking our technology will appreciate that it can be taken into much more specialised systems."

The next generation core has not yet been put into silicon. It will be made on a 90nm process and will, according to Beese, demonstrate all the benefits in terms of increased performance, greater density and improved power gained by migrating a part from 0.13µm to 90nm.

See also: Electronics Weekly's focus on microprocessors, a roundup of content related to microprocessor technologies and developments.