SAN JOSE -- Hitachi Ltd. and STMicroelectronics today announced plans to extend their partnership in RISC processor development to next-generation 64-bit architectures for multimedia and Internet appliances for consumers. The two companies said they will aim the upcoming SH-6 and SH-7 architectures at applications in digital video cameras, video telephones, home networking Internet appliances and digital televisions as well as other consumer products.
Hitachi of Japan and European-based STMicroelectronics formed an alliance last year to develop embedded processors based on Hitachi's SH-5 RISC architecture. The first products using that architecture have been released for production and are expected to be sampled by the end of this year.
During the Microprocessor Forum in San Jose, the two companies announced plans to create upward-compatible SH-6 and SH-7 architectures, leveraging from their work on the SH-5. Hitachi's embedded products will be called the SH-6 and SH-7 series, while STMicroelectronics will designate its products as the ST60 and ST70 families.
"Combining Hitachi's RISC technology with ST's successful consumer technology will definitely continue to create new generations of SuperH architectures," said Kunio Hasegawa, executive vice president of Hitachi's Semiconductor and Integrated Circuits group. "In the growing age of personal information electronics, this collaboration will provide more flexibility, more performance and less cost for customers."
Hitachi and STMicroelectronics said their expanded partnership will enable them to speed development of new high-performance, low-cost processors for consumer multimedia systems.
The SH-6 will be developed to operate up to 1 GHz and deliver over 2 billion instructions per second, said the two companies. The SH-6 architecture will include micro-architecture enhancements from the SH-5 processor for more advanced interactive networking applications. The SH-6 is expected to be available in second half 2002.
The SH-7 architecture will expand on the SH-6 to provide more advanced processing performance for multimedia applications, said Hitachi and STMicroelectronics. Features of the SH-7 will determined after the SH-6 is more fully developed and the market more defined in the next few years, according to the two partners.
The co-developed SuperH central processing units are key building blocks in STMicroelectronics' system-on-chip strategy for digital consumer applications, said Philippe Geyres, corporate vice president and general manager of the company's Consumer and Microcontroller Groups. "Co-development allows ST to optimize the CPU for software porting, performance and cost while supporting a de facto standard CPU that attracts third-party software," he added.
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
Hot applications in 2010:
We've compiled a list of 10 technology applications you should watch for in 2010, ranging from e-book readers to 3-D TVs. We examine the features that make these apps so compelling as well unresolved issues.
Top 25 predictions for semis in 2010:
2010 is just beginning to unfold in the electronics industry. Looking into our crystal ball, we have released our own chip forecasts--and other predictions--for 2010.
Seven things to fix in 2010:
The editors of EE Times came up with their own informal list of things we hope engineers fix in 2010, spanning everything from nano-lithography to space travel. What do you want to see get done this year?
'09 moves that are shaping the future:
This was a brutal year, but the industry gets a nod for showing grace under fire. Here's our Top 10 guide to the coming year, illustrating what to expect in 2010.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
