Stretch stretches configurable processor design

LONDON — Software configurable processor start-up Stretch Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) has come out of stealth mode with its first designs that embed programmable logic with an off the shelf processor, in the first instance the Tensilica Xtensa architecture.

The company is also offering a range of tools that enable developers to automatically configure and optimise the processor using C/C++ code.

Initially there are three versions available of the configurable processor range, all based on the S5 engine, the products differing only in their I/O and packaging. "We are targeting a host of applications in the telecoms, networking, security, video processing, multimedia and the wireless sectors, and have been discussing the technology with about 100 companies. We expect samples to be in customers' hands by the middle of the year", said Gary Banta, Stretch CEO.

"Our first traction is likely to be in video processing and wireless networking applications as well as non-standard radio. We have stayed away from wireless infrastructure, for instance use in next generation basestations, as this is already well defended with too many incumbents", said Banta.

The processors combine the best of two divergent semiconductor worlds says Banta " the ease of software development associated with general purpose processors and DSPs, with the parallelism and flexibility of FPGAs.

As well as the Tensilica core, for which Stretch has taken a wide-ranging license, the S5 engine incorporates a configurable data path based on proprietary programmable logic " dubbed the Stretch Instruction Set Extension Fabric. "Using this, system designers can easily extend the processor instruction set and define instruction simply using their C/C++. Taken together, all this leads to unprecedented performance, very fast development and thus significant cost reductions," said Banta.

The company says its processors far exceed the performance of the general purpose processors on the market now, as well as the DSPs and FPGAs and can thus replace a bank of DSPs and GPPs, or a processor combined with one or more expensive FPGAs.

For instance, the S5610, which is targeted at telecom, networking and security applications and has four 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports, 64bits of DDR400 SDRAM with error correction code, and low serial IO, TDM and general purpose IOs, has an EEMBC Telemark score of 877, "which beats the most powerful DSP-enhanced GPPs and DSPs on their home turf, as verified independently by the EEMBC Certification Labs," says the company.

Stretch was founded in March 2002 with investments of $52 million from Worldview Technology Partners, Oak Investment Partners and Menlo Ventures.