VLSI Technology Inc will license Hitachi Ltd’s SuperH RISC engine 32-bit microprocessors to use in its functional system box (FSB) libraries. Specifically, chip-set manufacturer VLSI will license the SH-3 and SH-4 chips to position them as cores for use in ASIC and ASSP applications such as PDAs, automotive navigation systems and multimedia peripherals. The companies say the agreement will mean an alternate source for their customers and help speed up customer’s product development cycles. VLSI and Hitachi have worked together on ASIC technologies since 1988. Hitachi’s SH series of embedded RISC microprocessors is probably the most successful original Japanese processor architecture – there are two of the things in Sega Enterprises Ltd’s Ultra 32 games machine.
