Patriot Scientific Corp has revealed details of its next-generation ShBoom microprocessor, claiming that the faster speed, lower power consumption and lower cost-per-MIPS will open up its chip to a wider range of applications. The new PSC-1005 shrinks the current 0.8 micron ShBoom PSC-1000 down to 0.5 micron, with a nominal clock-frequency of 90-100MHz, and anticipated processing power of 28 MIPS at 3.3 volts. It should be at the foundry from the beginning of next year, and generally available shortly afterwards. The company says it plans to reveal more technical details about the new chip next week. Meanwhile, the San Diego, California-based company began shipping silicon of its PSC-1000 chip back in July, and according to company spokesman Paul Berlin there are now at least 15 companies testing it. Two of those are committed to use the chip, although the only one named is Birmingham, Michigan-based The WebBook company, which plans to launch a Java-based Internet terminal using the chip during the second quarter of next year. Others have made verbal commitments, said Berlin, to use the chip in everything from advanced digital cellular phones to automotive applications, printers, and industrial robotics applications. Patriot is also understood to be close to signing an agreement with an embedded operating systems company. And it’s also in the process of embedding the Java Virtual Machine within the silicon. Although still a development-stage company, seven-year-old Patriot now has a revenue stream, in the form of its CyberShark ISDN Digital Modem. Last month it won its 1,000 unit order for the box, which works with Windows95 and connects directly to ISDN telephone lines. CyberShark, which is being manufactured in Taiwan, currently uses a Motorola Inc chip, but the next generation will use the Shboom processor. Beyond the PSC-1005, Patriot says it already has in the planning stages a further shrink of the silicon down to 0.35 micron, scheduled to appear in late 1997. Current chips are fabricated by National Semiconductor Corp, although arrangements for the new chip have yet to be finalized.
