IBM introduces 1 GHz PowerPC microprocessorEast Fishkill 17 October 2001 IBM has launched its fastest embedded PowerPC microprocessor, operating at speeds up to one gigahertz (GHz). The new chip - the IBM PowerPC 750FX - is the first to combine the company's most advanced process technologies onto one chip, reducing power consumption by up to 50 percent or increasing performance by up to 30 percent. Manufactured in IBM's advanced 0.13 micron process, the chip is the first to include copper interconnects, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors and low-k dielectric insulation technologies.
The new processor is ideally suited for a variety of systems, including storage, imaging, networking, consumer-based desktop and portable computing and other consumer applications. "IBM continues to be a leader in the development of world-class process technologies and semiconductor products", said Dean Parker, PowerPC product marketing manager, IBM Microelectronics. "The processing requirements for computing and embedded applications continue to increase. The 750FX expands the capabilities of the previous IBM PowerPC processors to support more performance-demanding, yet power-sensitive, applications."
The device is expected to deliver an estimated 2300 Dhrystone MIPS performance at 1GHz. At the same time, power dissipation has been minimised by use of the advanced process technologies. The 750FX consumes only 3.6W (typical) at 800MHz, exceeding power efficiencies of comparably performing microprocessors.
To support high performance systems, the 750FX increases bus bandwidth by improving both frequency and bus utilisation. The chip supports bus frequencies of up to 200MHz, and has additional pipelining to provide up to 25 percent more performance than previous PowerPC devices in addition to frequency improvements. The superscalar device includes 512K of internal on-chip L2 cache running at processor frequency, and utilises an efficient 5-stage pipeline to minimize latency.
IBM was the first to introduce copper chip technology in 1997, first to introduce silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology - another IBM materials breakthrough - in 1998 and first to integrate both copper and SOI into its products in 2000. In 2000, IBM also introduced a new method to insulate chip wiring - low-k dielectric - which can deliver up to a 30 percent boost in computing speed and performance. Now, in 2001, IBM is demonstrating the capability to combine all of these technological breakthroughs into a single high-performance process, as illustrated on the 750FX.
Select customers are currently evaluating the hardware with general sampling available in January of 2002. The PowerPC 750FX is planned to initially debut at 700 MHz, with versions at speeds up to 1 Ghz later that year.
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