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From: gideon@nsc.nsc.com (Gideon Intrater)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: National Semiconductor's Swordfish (commercial)
Message-ID: <5403@taux01.nsc.com>
Date: 18 Feb 91 16:40:13 GMT
Sender: netnews@taux01.nsc.com
Reply-To: gideon@nsc.nsc.com (Gideon Intrater)
Organization: National Semiconductor (IC) Ltd, Israel
Lines: 76


* * * Commercial Announcement Alert * * *

If you don't want to read a press release, please skip the 
remainder of this article.


NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR ANNOUNCES 100-MIPS IMAGING TECHNOLOGY
WITH DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING:  OPENS NEW MARKETS FOR
PERIPHERALS, ROBOTICS AND MULTIMEDIA

February 15, 1991 -- National Semiconductor Corporation today
disclosed a new generation of imaging technology that achieves
an unprecedented 100 MIPS performance by combining a 64-bit
superscalar architecture with high-performance, on-chip digital
signal processing.
    "Today's announcement of our newest Swordfish core
technology not only provides the highest performance available
in any embedded processor solution, but also extends the
migration path of National's core processors from 1 to 100
MIPS," said Dr. Giora Yaron, vice president of National
Semiconductor's Imaging Group.

HIGH PERFORMANCE EMBEDDED PROCESSOR MARKET
    The new Swordfish core is designed for use in peripherals,
robotics and multimedia systems.  It addresses the needs of the
fast developing disciplines of data compression and
decompression, pattern recognition and digital high-definition
visual presentation.  Potential market segments include advanced
office peripherals such as high-end printers and print servers
which demand high resolution, PostScriptTM capability, high
speed and full color.  Digital copiers and high-performance
color facsimile systems constitute another segment, and
additional application areas include combined modem, fax and
data communications, hard disk servo control feedback systems
such as robotics and machine tools, and voice compression and
video compression in areas such as HDTV, multimedia and
interactive data bases.
    The forecast for growth, according to both analysts and
National Semiconductor, shows that the market for 32-bit and
64-bit RISC embedded processors will grow nearly 10 times from
1.1 million units in 1990 to 10.9 million units in 1994.  Ten
percent of that growth is expected to be in the high-end segment
demanding performance above 25 MIPS.  Most of this growth is
concentrated in the office peripherals segment.
    "The trend is clear for desktop devices to assume multiple
functions and to require more and more powerful technology, thus
opening up new and significantly wide ranging markets," said
Yaron.
    We are strongly committed to developing the technology and
product applications to take advantage of these new market
opportunities," Yaron added.

SWORDFISH TECHNOLOGY
    The new Swordfish core announced today is a 64-bit
Superscalar RISC architecture that incorporates two independent
integer units, a floating-point unit, on-chip instruction and
data caches and enhanced on-chip DSP functions.  The core offers
true superscalar performance, which means that its dual
pipelined integer execution units can effectively execute two
instructions per clock cycle, a significant enhancement over the
inherent RISC capability of one instruction per clock cycle.
    Cast in the 0.8-micron version of National Semiconductor's
M2CMOS process, the new core design effectively connects more
than 1 million transistors.
    National Semiconductor Corporation designs, manufactures and
markets high-performance semiconductor products.  Headquartered
in Santa Clara, Calif., the company is a global leader in mixed
analog-and-digital technologies.


--

Gideon Intrater                            gideon@nsc.nsc.com
National Semiconductor, P.O.Box 3007, Herzlia B 46104, Israel 
Phone: +972-52-522255,                    Fax: +972-52-558322