MIPS & IHP Cooperate in Wireless Broadband Communication Research

FRANKFURT, GERMANY -- IHP, a leading microelectronics innovation center focused on wireless and broadband communications has licensed the new high-performance, low-power, 32-bit core (MIPS32(TM) 4KEp(TM)) from MIPS Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network applications. The MIPS Technologies core is being used to develop 5-GHz wireless LAN (WLAN) processors as part of IHP's Wireless Broadband Network (WBN) activities. The MIPS32 4KE(TM) family offers the highest performance available in synthesizable 32-bit cores, with more than 1.35 DMIPS/MHz, which is more than 20 percent higher than that of competitive cores. For low-power applications, it offers configurable features that give systems-on-chip (SOC) designers the ability to minimize power consumption, making it a compelling solution for a wide range of communications products, both wired and wireless. "The MIPS32 4KEp core offers a substantial power/performance advantage over the other cores we have evaluated," said Professor Abbas Ourmazd, director of IHP. "It will be used in conjunction with our hardware accelerators for implementing the protocol stack for 5-GHz WLAN modems, with very high-speed computational demands and limited battery power. As part of the Wireless Broadband Network activity at the IHP, the 4KE core will help us advance the state of the art in wireless communications." "IHP is driving the next generation of wireless communications, and MIPS Technologies is proud to be a key contributor of core technology to their efforts," said John Hall, vice president of European operations at MIPS Technologies. "The 4KEp core gives IHP a widely supported, industry-standard solution that delivers the performance necessary to handle next-generation features such as high-speed multimedia. At the same time, it gives IHP the flexibility to keep power consumption and product costs down." For more information visit www.ihp-microelectronics.com or www.mips.com