Xtensa Customizable Processors

Quickly Create Customized Functional Blocks

Tensilica provides SOC designers with everything needed to quickly design high-speed, customized functional blocks that exactly match the required application. By using Tensilica’s Xtensa processors, design teams can avoid the time and verification required by hand-coding RTL blocks in Verilog or VHDL. Because these processors are fully programmable, changes can be made in firmware after silicon production.

All Xtensa configurable processors have two essential unique features:

  • Configurability - designers are offered a menu of checkbox and drop-down menu options so they can pick just the features they need
  • Extensibility - designers can add multi-cycle execution units, registers, register files, and much more using the Tensilica Instruction Extension (TIE) methodology, where the designer only has to specify and verify the functional behavior of the new data path and the RTL is automatically generated.

Complete with Matching SW Tool Chain

All of the tools, including the compiler, debugger and ISS, are automatically updated to match the configuration options and all extensible options . The matching tool set is generated by the Xtensa Processor Generator at the same time the new processor RTL is created.

Processor Cores

Xtensa LX2

Tensilica’s top-of-the-line product, Xtensa LX2 takes the configurable, extensible processor to the next level with RTL-equivalent bandwidth and exceptional computational performance. This highly flexible processor is ideal for DSP and data-intensive functions.
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Xtensa 7

Tensilica's Xtensa 7 configurable, extensible processor is optimized for low-power applications and is ideal for control and DSP operations.
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Comparison

 

Xtensa 7 Xtensa LX2
Major ISA Configuration Options
Max16 Yes Yes
MUL16/MUL32 Yes Yes
Floating Point Yes Yes
Vectra LX Not Avai Yes
HiFi 2 Audio Not Avai Yes
Linux MMU Yes Yes
Pipeline/Architecture Options
Pipeline Stages 5 5/7
FLIX Technology Not Avai Yes
Processor Interface Options
PIF and XLMI Yes Yes
Load/Store Units One One or Two
Designer-Defined Ports and Queues Not Avai Yes

 

DSPs

Xtensa DSPs

Tensilica offers the widest range of DSPs in the industry based on the common Xtensa architecture, ranging from audio and video DSPs to the industry's fastest DSP core. You can customize our cores to perform exactly those DSP tasks you need.
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535CK DSP

The fastest DSP core according to BDTI.

Multimedia Solutions

HiFi 2 Audio Engine

Turnkey 24-bit audio for SOC designs, with multiple-codec support.
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Video

Turnkey video solutions for SOC designs, with multiple-codec support.
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Development Tools

XPRES Compiler

The next-generation in hardware XPRES logosynthesis technology. XPRES Compiler produces application-specific Xtensa LX processors from ANSI C/C++ code. Both first-time Tensilica users and expert processor developers can speed SOC design using XPRES Compiler.
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Xtensa Processor Developers Toolkit

Tensilica has created the most advanced and powerful yet easy-to-use tools for processor customization. Tensilica’s Processor Developer’s Toolkit contains all the tools necessary to create, analyze, and build extremely high performance application-specific processors.
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Xtensa SW Developers Toolkit

If you need to develop application code for an Xtensa processor, the Xtensa Software Developer’s Toolkit (SDK) provides a comprehensive collection of code generation and analysis tools that will speed the development process.
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FPGA Prototyping

The Xtensa processor generator produces optimized, fully-placed FPGA components for any Xilinx-based SOC prototyping or hardware emulation platform.
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