picoChip heralds 262GIPS, 35GMACS multicore wireless chips

The PC20xx-10 devices are based on the same multicore picoArray architecture as existing PC20x products, but with a larger array of processors, whilst retaining full code compatibility. The performance uplift in the PC20x-10 devices is achieved not by traditional clock speed increases or by shrinking the semiconductor manufacturing technology employed: instead the multicore nature of the picoArray is used to increase the number of processor elements in the devices from 248 to 273. This strategy, says picoChip also increases memory size by 8 percent. Because clock rate does not change, the new devices are fully code-compatible; software written for the smaller chips can immediately run on the new devices.

Moreover, picoChip says that the extra processing headroom of the PC2xx-10 devices gives OEMs significantly more flexibility in creating 3G, WiMAX and 4G wireless products.

Priced from $31 in volume, all PC20x-10 devices are programmed in standard ANSI C, and feature a cryptographic engine as well as an optimized co-processor for FFT/IFFT, Viterbi and turbo decoders.