TOKYO (02/07/2000) - Researchers from Japan's NEC Corp. have unveiled the prototype of a new microprocessor that they say could serve as the model for future processors for mobile devices.
The MP98 processor contains four separate microprocessors on the same chip that work together in such a way that they can be switched on and switched off depending on the job in hand. A single processor can be used to handle easy jobs, such as data entry through a keypad, while more can be brought online as the task demands with all four working on things like processing of video.
This gives designers of portable devices the best of both worlds -- both low power consumption and high capacity, said Masato Edahiro, principal researcher at NEC's C&C Media Laboratories. Handheld devices typically only require full processing capacity for short periods of time, while power consumption is always key because of limited battery life.
The first prototype of the chip demonstrated a performance level of 1 billion instructions per second while consuming less than 1 watt of power according to Edahiro, who claims this as a world record. In normal operation, handling a job such as keyboard entry, power consumption drops to 50 milliwatts while it falls even further to 500 microwatts when in standby mode.
Compared to existing processors being used in handheld terminals for operations such as audio and video, NEC says prototypes of the MP98 offer equivalent capacity while consuming one fifth the amount of power at full capacity and one hundredth the amount of power in normal operating mode and standby.
The idea of putting several processors together on a single chip isn't new.
Edahiro acknowledges both IBM Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. have developed similar devices but, he says, this is the first working example of a "fine grain" device which offers better performance over the other manufacturer's coarse grain technologies.
Commercial products based on the technology are likely to be seen around 2003, by which time Edahiro and his team hope to have power consumption at full capacity down even more -- from 1 watt to 0.3 watts.
Full details of the new chip, the MP98, will be announced by NEC researchers on Wednesday at the International Solid State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) which begins today and runs through Wednesday in San Francisco. More details can be found online at http://www.labs.nec.co.jp/MP98/.
NEC Corp., in Tokyo, can be found online at http://www.nec.co.jp/.