Embedded Processor Watch

Senior Editor: Tom Halfhill

Contributors to this issue: Keith Diefendorff, Senior Analyst

In This Issue:

• New Transmeta CPU Has More Cache
• Extreme Lithography: Intel Backs EUV
• Lexra Offers Free LX5280 Simulator
• Cahners MicroDesign Resources Seeks New Analysts

New Transmeta CPU Has More Cache

By Tom R. Halfhill

Four top-tier vendors at PC Expo announced their intention to make notebook computers based on Transmeta's Crusoe processors. Some of these systems will use a new version of Crusoe that has twice as much on-chip L2 cache. Transmeta has also revealed a two-year roadmap of processors with higher clock speeds, greater integration, lower power consumption, and new VLIW cores.

The four PC vendors throwing their weight behind Transmeta's unusual x86-compatible processors (see Embedded Processor Watch #86, http://www.MDRonline.com/epw/issues/epw_86.html) are Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, and NEC. All the vendors plan to introduce notebooks in the ultralight class, ranging in weight from 2.8 to 3.5 pounds, with TFT screens ranging in size from 10.4 to 12.1 inches. The notebooks are scheduled to ship this fall.

Some of the new notebooks will use the Crusoe TM5600, which has 512K of on-chip L2 cache -- twice as much as the TM5400 announced in February. In other respects, the TM5600 is identical to the TM5400. It will be manufactured by Transmeta's foundry partner, IBM Microelectronics, in a 0.18-micron copper process and packaged in a 474-pin ceramic BGA. Doubling the L2 cache increased the die size to 88mm^2, which is 20% larger than the TM5400's die (73mm^2).

According to Transmeta, the TM5600 is 5-15% faster than the TM5400 and consumes 2-17% less power. Although doubling the size of the L2 cache and enlarging the die would normally increase power consumption, Transmeta says the TM5600 actually uses less power when running typical Windows software, because it makes fewer accesses to main memory over the 3.3V I/O bus. However, Transmeta still has not released any results of common industry benchmark tests to back up its performance and power-consumption claims. (The full version of this article is available online to Microprocessor Report subscribers at http://www.MDRonline.com/mpr/h/2000/0710/142802.html).

Extreme Lithography: Intel Backs EUV

By Keith Diefendorff

Working at the very boundary between theoretical physics and practical engineering, scientists at Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories appear to have beaten into submission many of the obstacles standing in the path of extreme-ultraviolet radiation's becoming the industry choice for next-generation lithography (NGL). By calling on technology they developed for the "Star Wars" space-based ballistic-missile-defense system, spy satellites, and the Hubble Space Telescope, these scientists believe they can use "light" in the extreme-ultraviolet (soft x-ray) region of the electromagnetic spectrum to image transistors as small as 20 nanometers.

The extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) effort at the three labs -- collectively called the Virtual National Laboratory (VNL) -- is funded entirely by the private sector under a $250 million cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) between the U.S. government and a limited liability company called EUV LLC. Intel established EUV LLC in 1997, along with AMD and Motorola, to sponsor EUVL development and commercialization. Recently, Infineon and Micron also joined the consortium.

The problems of imaging ever-smaller features onto a wafer are many and difficult. Drawing 70nm features onto an IC is the equivalent of drawing features the size of a quarter onto the surface of the earth from the height of an orbiting space shuttle (190 miles). Such resolution requires imaging systems that use electromagnetic radiation an order of magnitude shorter in wavelength than current DUV steppers. Systems that use such short wavelengths cannot use refractive optics (lenses) -- only reflective optics (mirrors) will work. At these wavelengths, even air is completely opaque, requiring NGL to be carried under vacuum.

Although it is too early to conclude that EUVL will win the NGL race, not enough can be said about the accomplishments of the VNL scientists in just a few years. One by one, technical hurdles that once looked insurmountable have been conquered. Superhuman progress has occurred on many fronts: creating clean high-intensity EUV-light sources; producing ultrahigh-precision optics; taming flare at short wavelengths; producing uniform multilayer mirror coatings; controlling thermal stress in a vacuum environment; mitigating defects on optical elements (including reticles); and designing, manufacturing, and controlling mechanical systems to nanometer accuracy.

The technical accomplishments are impressive, but the real credit for the current status of EUVL must go to Intel. Intel recognized the potential of EUV and realized the national labs might have some technology to bring to bear on the problem. Intel also demonstrated real leadership by setting an example and committing its own money to the effort early on, and then rallying industry support for the technology through lobbying at SEMATECH and by creating EUV LLC. The result is that EUVL technology has gained enormous momentum and come from behind to become the leading candidate for next-generation lithography. Intel and its EUV LLC partners stand to reap the benefits by gaining early access to the billion-transistor chips the technology enables. (The full version of this article is available online to Microprocessor Report subscribers at http://www.MDRonline.com/mpr/h/2000/0619/142501.html).

Lexra Offers Free LX5280 Simulator

An instruction-set simulator for Lexra's LX5280 embedded-processor core is now available for free downloading on Lexra's Web site (http://www.lexra.com). It allows potential customers to test algorithms and quickly determine if the LX5280 (see Embedded Processor Watch #47, http://www.MDRonline.com/epw/issues/epw_47.html) is suitable for their applications. The package includes the instruction-accurate simulator, a sample finite-impulse-response (FIR) filter written in C and assembly language, programming scripts, and documentation. An evaluation copy of a cycle-accurate simulator is also available for more thorough code profiling. Both simulators work with the Green Hills Multi2000 compiler or a command-line interface, and there are versions for Windows and Solaris 2.6. --T.R.H.

Cahners MicroDesign Resources Seeks New Analysts

Cahners MicroDesign Resources, the publisher of this newsletter as well as Microprocessor Watch and Microprocessor Report, and the organizer of Microprocessor Forum and Embedded Processor Forum, is seeking new analysts to join its team. Positions focused on either embedded processors or PC/server processors are available. Our analysts are highly visible thought leaders in the microprocessor industry and frequently meet with top architects and executives. Candidates must have at least five years of relevant design, marketing, or analysis experience as well as excellent communication skills. For more information, contact Steve Leibson (mailto:sleibson@mdr.cahners.com).