Ingenic Semiconductor is a Chinese
fabless
Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication (or ''fab'') to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry. These foundries are typically, but not exclus ...
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...
company based in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
founded in 2005. They purchased licenses for the
MIPS architecture
MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipelined Stages) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures (ISA)Price, Charles (September 1995). ''MIPS IV Instruction Set'' (Revision 3.2), MIPS Technologies, ...
instruction set
In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA), also called computer architecture, is an abstract model of a computer. A device that executes instructions described by that ISA, such as a central processing unit (CPU), is called an ' ...
s in 2009 and design
CPU-
microarchitecture
In computer engineering, microarchitecture, also called computer organization and sometimes abbreviated as µarch or uarch, is the way a given instruction set architecture (ISA) is implemented in a particular processor. A given ISA may be impl ...
s based on them. They also design
system on a chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
products including their CPUs and licensed
semiconductor intellectual property
In electronic design, a semiconductor intellectual property core (SIP core), IP core, or IP block is a reusable unit of logic, cell, or integrated circuit layout design that is the intellectual property of one party. IP cores can be licensed to ...
blocks from third parties, such as
Vivante Corporation
Vivante Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with an R&D center in Shanghai, China. The company was founded in 2004 as GiQuila and focused on the portable gaming market. The company's first produ ...
, commission the fabrication of
integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
s at
semiconductor fabrication plant
In the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant (commonly called a fab; sometimes foundry) is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured.
Fabs require many expensive devices to function. Estimates ...
s and sell them.
XBurst microarchitecture
The XBurst CPU microarchitecture is based upon the
MIPS32 revision 1 respectively the
MIPS32 revision 2 instruction set and implements an 8-stage pipeline. XBurst CPU technology consists of 2 parts:
* A
RISC
In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set comput ...
/
SIMD
Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) is a type of parallel processing in Flynn's taxonomy. SIMD can be internal (part of the hardware design) and it can be directly accessible through an instruction set architecture (ISA), but it should ...
/
DSP
DSP may refer to:
Computing
* Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal
* Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing
* Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...
hybrid instruction set architecture which enables the processor to have the capability of computation, signal processing and video processing. This includes the Media Extension Unit (MXU), a 32-bit SIMD extension. All JZ47xx series CPUs with Xburst uA support MXU, except for the JZ4730.
* MXU has its own register set, distinct from the general purpose MIPS registers. It consists of sixteen 32-bit data registers and a 32-bit control register. CPUs which support MXU are used in
MIPS Creator
Creator is a family of single-board computers developed by Imagination Technologies to promote educational research and software development based on the MIPS architecture. The first board in the platform, the Creator Ci20, was released in Augu ...
single-board computers. They are also present in various tablets, handheld game devices, and embedded devices.
XBurst2 microarchitecture
XBurst2 development was, in summer 2013, expected to be completed by the first half of 2014. However, XBurst2 was eventually introduced in 2020 in the X2000,
with the microarchitecture offering a dual-issue/dual-threaded CPU design based on MIPS32 Release 5.
XBurst-based SoCs
SoCs incorporating the XBurst
microarchitecture
In computer engineering, microarchitecture, also called computer organization and sometimes abbreviated as µarch or uarch, is the way a given instruction set architecture (ISA) is implemented in a particular processor. A given ISA may be impl ...
:
Adoption
XBurst1-based SoCs are commonly used in
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s,
portable media player
A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
s, digital photo frames and GPS devices:
The JZ4730 CPU is used in the
Skytone Alpha-400
The Skytone Alpha-400 is a Linux-based low-cost netbook with a 7 in 800×480 LCD screen, introduced in 2008. Its measurements (length×width×depth) are 210×140×32 mm and it weighs 0.65 kg.
It is made in China by Skytone and ...
and its variants. The Jz4720 is utilized in the
Copyleft Hardware project
Ben NanoNote
The Ben NanoNote (officially the 本 NanoNote)Melanson, Donald"Qi Hardware's tiny, hackable Ben NanoNote now shipping" ''Engadget'', 15 March 2010 (accessed 1 November 2012) is a pocket computer using the Linux-based OpenWrt operating system. An ...
. Another popular device, the
Dingoo
The Dingoo is a handheld gaming console that supports music and video playback and open game development. The system features an on-board radio and recording program. It is available to consumers in three colors: white, black, and pink. It was r ...
gaming handheld, uses the JZ4732, a de facto JZ4740.
Game Gadget
The Game Gadget is an open source gaming handheld that supports music and video playback, open game development, and some e-reader features.
History Development
Initial development of the system occurred in the United Kingdom, and open source sof ...
is using the JZ4750. Velocity Micro T103 Cruz and T301 Cruz 7-Inch Android 2.0 Tablets used JZ4760. The JZ4770 SoC is used in several of the
Ainol Novo 7 Android tablets and 3Q Tablet PC Qoo! IC0707A/4A40. JZ4770 SoC is also used in the dedicated handheld NEOGEO-X and
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
handheld
GCW Zero
The GCW Zero is a Linux-based open-source handheld video game console created by a start up, Game Consoles Worldwide. The GCW Zero was funded by a successful crowdfunding campaign on kickstarter.com on 29 January 2013 with US$238,499 collected, o ...
running on OpenDingux. The JZ4780 is used in ImgTec's MIPS based
single-board computer
A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrati ...
(SBC); The Creator CI20
See also
*
Lantiq
Lantiq was a Germany-based fabless semiconductor company of approximately 1,000 people formed via a spin-out from Infineon Technologies. The company was purchased in 2015 by Intel for $345M.
Corporate history
On July 7, 2009 Infineon Technologies ...
*
Cavium
Cavium was a fabless semiconductor company based in San Jose, California, specializing in ARM-based and MIPS-based network, video and security processors and SoCs. The company was co-founded in 2000 by Syed B. Ali and M. Raghib Hussain, who wer ...
*
Loongson
Loongson () is the name of a family of general-purpose, MIPS architecture-compatible microprocessors, as well as the name of the Chinese fabless company (Loongson Technology) that develops them. The processors are alternately called Godson proc ...
*
Qualcomm Atheros
Qualcomm Atheros is a developer of semiconductor chips for network communications, particularly wireless chipsets. Founded under the name T-Span Systems in 1998 by experts in signal processing and VLSI design from Stanford University, the Univer ...
*
MediaTek
MediaTek Inc. () is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, handheld mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers, navigation systems, consumer multimedia pr ...
*
OpenWrt
OpenWrt (from ''open wireless router'') is an open-source project for embedded operating systems based on Linux, primarily used on embedded devices to route network traffic. The main components are Linux, util-linux, musl, and BusyBox. All com ...
*
Ainol
Shenzhen Ainol Electronics Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 深圳艾诺电子有限公司) was a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturing and distribution company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It specialises in Android Tablet Computers and P ...
*
Ben Nanonote
The Ben NanoNote (officially the 本 NanoNote)Melanson, Donald"Qi Hardware's tiny, hackable Ben NanoNote now shipping" ''Engadget'', 15 March 2010 (accessed 1 November 2012) is a pocket computer using the Linux-based OpenWrt operating system. An ...
References
External links
*
Application Processor OverviewLinux developer pagerockbox.org, Hardware docsMT-V656 (JZ4755)Ingenic Semiconductor Licenses MIPS32® Architecture for Mobile Devices (January 4, 2011)EE Times Article
{{Electronics industry in China
Fabless semiconductor companies
Embedded microprocessors
Companies based in Beijing
Electronics companies established in 2005
Chinese brands
Microprocessors made in China
MIPS architecture