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The starlight core for express disk drive controllers

Obiettivo

- Design and manufacture a reduced-size micro-core (STARLIGHT core) optimised for disk drive applications.

- Develop a family of disk drive subsystems to enable silicon integration for customer specific solutions.

- Produce an integrated simulation model (VHDL) of the STARLIGHT core family with application specific subsystems developed for the disk drive controller. This will provide a prototype to demonstrate the state-of-the-art 32-bit solution to potential customers.

- Development of software support for STARLIGHT core applications. Suitable software support to allow systems to be developed and debugged together with the necessary compiler development to target the reduced instruction set core.

The trend in the drive industry is towards higher integration of disk functions into fewer monolithic devices. Current drive designs use 16-bit micros; in multiple high-density devices, performing drive functions such as servo control, disk control, host control and read/write data transfer. In the move towards a 'drive-on-a-chip', these micros cannot deliver the processing bandwidth necessary to carry out these real-time functions.
New 32-bit architectures such as the ST20 have five to ten times the processing power of the current micro solutions being used. In addition, the integration of DSP-type functions such as hardware multipliers further relieves the processing burden on the micro-core. By upgrading to machines such as the ST20, the disk architect benefits from MIP increases due to more efficient instruction sets; greater data bandwidth and DSP functionality.
The processing benefits of a 32-bit move have been evident for some time. The drive industry has applied pressure on microprocessor architects to provide the functionality described above, but at a cost in die area that was not feasible in the industry. STARLIGHT is to demonstrate that these issues can be successfully addressed by the ST20 and that the time is now right for this 32-bit move.

Invito a presentare proposte

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Meccanismo di finanziamento

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinatore

Sgs-Thomson Microelectronics Limited
Contributo UE
Nessun dato
Indirizzo
Aztec West 1000
BS124SQ Almondsbury
Regno Unito

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Costo totale
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Partecipanti (1)