ZiiLABS to Double the Performance, Cut Power by Half on 100-Core ZMS-40 Processor

By DE Editors

ZiiLABS, a media processor and platform company (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology), has implemented its 14th design using Magma Design Automation software.

The recently announced 100-core ZMS-40 StemCell Media processor combines 96 of ZiiLABS' StemCell media processing cores with four 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPUs to deliver improved multi-tasking application and media processing performance, and is optimized for Android-based handheld and tablet computing applications. By doubling the number of StemCell Media processors compared to the previous ZMS-20, the ZMS-40 delivers twice the peak media performance. Alternatively, the ZMS-40s larger array can be run at lower clock speeds to achieve the same performance as the ZMS-20 while consuming up to 50 percent less power.

The Magma software was instrumental in enabling ZiiLABS to tape out the ZMS40 while maintaining an aggressive design schedule. As a result of this latest success, ZiiLABS will deploy the Talus 1.2 IC implementation system, Tekton static timing analysis, QCP extraction, FineSim SPICE circuit simulation and Quartz DRC/LVS physical verification solutions on its next-generation designs.

For more information, visit Magma Design Automation.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.