Imagination preps sensor IP sub-systems for multi-node TSMC processes

Tony King-Smith, Imagination

TSMC will add library blocks and prepare the design for tape-out on any node from 55nm to 10nm. According to Imagination: ‘Studies today show it costs 2-3x more to design a 16nm FinFET-based chip vs. 28nm – we’re talking about any chip, be it wearable, mobile, IoT, or automotive; this is a huge increase, leaving many new and established chip makers struggling to compete.’

The subsystems will feature GPU compute, power-managed CPU clusters and on-chip high-bandwidth communications.

“We have been working with TSMC for more than two years on advanced IP subsystems for IoT and other connected products,” says Imagination’s Tony King-Smith, “many of our licensees rely on TSMC to provide them with leading-edge, low-power, high-performance silicon foundry capabilities. Through our ongoing collaboration with TSMC, we are focused on creating meaningful solutions that will help our mutual customers quickly create differentiated, secure and highly integrated products.”

Suk Lee, TSMC senior director, Design Infrastructure Marketing Division, says: “In order to simplify our customers’ designs and shorten their time-to-market, TSMC and our ecosystem partners are transitioning from chip-design enablers to subsystem enablers,” says TSMC’s Suk Lee, “we are working closely with Imagination, an established IP leader, as part of our new IoT Subsystem Enablement initiative to help companies get their IoT and connected products to market more quickly and easily.”

Imagination’s IP families include:

OmniShield-enabled PowerVR multimedia IP, which continues to extend its leadership in both GPU and video decode/encode, complemented by innovative camera imaging processors

OmniShield-enabled MIPS CPUs, which power billions of products around the globe from 32-bit microcontrollers for wearables and IoT to high-end 64-bit networking systems

Ensigma RPUs (radio connectivity processors), including high-performance Explorer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on-chip IP and Whisper ultra-low power sensor IP to enable the IoT era

Other technologies, including FlowCloud device-to-cloud connectivity solutions, Caskeid multiroom streaming audio platform, and extensive FlowTalk and ClearCall VoIP technologies