Microsemi Announces SoftConsole v5.1, the World’s First Freely Available Windows-Hosted Eclipse Integrated Development Environment Supporting RISC-V Open Instruction Set Architecture

Hong Kong, China, June 28, 2017 /ChinaNewswire.com/ - Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, announced the release of its SoftConsole version 5.1, the world’s first available Windows-hosted Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) for designs utilizing RISC-V open instruction set architectures (ISAs) such as RV32I. SoftConsole, Microsemi’s free software development environment enabling rapid production of C and C++ programming language designs for its field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), showcased at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in a presentation highlighting its open architecture, low power and development capabilities using RISC-V soft central processing unit (CPU) cores.

“With the majority of Microsemi FPGA designers utilizing a Windows platform for their development efforts, SoftConsole v5.1 not only supports our RISC-V soft CPU cores to enable designs with our highly secure and reliable FPGAs, but it can also be used for any RV32I standard ISA extensions,” said Tim Morin, director of marketing at Microsemi, who presented on the subject at DAC on June 20. “This product release broadens the RISC-V ecosystem for those developing on Windows machines, and leverages our leadership position as we continue investing in this architecture to provide customers dependable, long-term roadmap support.”

Microsemi’s SoftConsole v5.1, a GNU compiler collection (GCC), now supports both Windows and Linux for RISC-V designs and can be used for RV32I implementations including extensions to the baseline RV32I architecture such as M,A,F,D,G and C. Offering low power and an open architecture, it supports Microsemi’s PolarFire#8482;, RTG4#8482;, SmartFusion#8482;2 and IGLOO#8482;2 FPGA-based RISC-V soft CPUs as well as the HiFive1 Arduino kit from SiFive, a fabless semiconductor company that produces computer chips based on the RISC-V ISA. SoftConsole v5.1 is ideal for developing a wide variety of applications within the aerospace and defense, communications, data center and industrial markets.

RISC-V, an ISA which is now a standard open architecture under the governance of the RISC-V Foundation, offers numerous benefits, including enabling the open source community to test and improve cores at a faster pace than closed ISAs. As the RISC-V intellectual property (IP) core is not encrypted, it can be used to ensure trust and certifications not possible with closed architectures. Portability is another benefit of the technology. For example, designers can begin development with Microsemi’s RISC-V core in its FPGAs and then move to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) royalty-free.

“Rumble Development is excited Microsemi is investing in RISC-V with its IP core and the new version of the SoftConsole IDE,” said Michael Aronson, president of Rumble Development, a customer of Microsemi which provides custom logic solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). “We believe the portability, stability and openness of this ISA combined with Microsemi’s ecosystem will enable us to innovate faster and deliver best-in-class solutions.”

As a free software development environment supporting quick development of C and C++ executables for Microsemi’s FPGAs using RISC-V soft CPU cores, SoftConsole v5.1 provides a flexible and easy-to-use graphical interface for managing embedded software development projects. Customers can quickly develop and debug software programs and implement them in Microsemi FPGAs, with a fully integrated debugger offering easy access to memory contents, registers and single-step execution. SoftConsole also enables users to configure project settings and organize files, provides simultaneous access to multiple tool windows, and delivers the ability to quickly switch editing and debug views. In addition, Libero SoC, Microsemi’s comprehensive suite of FPGA design tools, includes the Firmware Catalog to export firmware for soft CPU FPGA designs which can be imported into SoftConsole.

The RISC-V ISA was named Best Technology of 2016 by The Linley Group at its annual Analysts’ Choice Awards in January 2017, where its principal analyst Linley Gwennap expressed support of the emerging technology.

“RISC-V is a modern take on the classic RISC instruction set, providing a clean and extensible approach suitable for a broad range of microprocessor implementations. More significantly, the open source, royalty-free RISC-V instruction set creates a new business model for CPU designers,” said Gwennap. “This combination has generated sizable industry interest in RISC-V, which will lead to several commercial deployments this year and beyond.”

Through Microsemi’s early involvement in the creation of the RISC-V Foundation, the company has an established leadership role in the emerging standard and ecosystem and is working closely with the nonprofit to ensure the ISA becomes an industry standard for a wide variety of computing devices. Ted Speers, head of product architecture and planning for Microsemi’s SoC business unit, was appointed to the inaugural board of directors of the RISC-V Foundation in July 2016, and Ted Marena, director of SoC FPGA marketing, was elected as vice-chair of the RISC-V Marketing Committee in August 2016.

Product Availability

Microsemi’s SoftConsole v5.1 is available now. For more information, visit http://www.microsemi.com/products/fpga-soc/soc-processors/risc-v and https://www.microsemi.com/products/fpga-soc/design-resources/design-software/softconsole or contact sales.support@microsemi.com.

About Microsemi's FPGAs

Microsemi's new cost-optimized PolarFire FPGAs deliver the industry's lowest power at mid-range densities with exceptional security and reliability. The product family features 12.7 Gbps SerDes transceivers at up to 50 percent lower power than competing FPGAs. With densities spanning from 100K to 500K logic elements (LEs), the non-volatile PolarFire product family consumes 10 times less static power than competitive devices and features an even lower standby power referred to as Flash*Freeze. The company's IGLOO#8482;2 FPGAs and SmartFusion#8482;2 SoC FPGAs deliver more resources in low density devices, with the lowest power, proven security and exceptional reliability. The devices offer 30-50 percent more power efficiency and are ideal for general purpose functions such as Gigabit Ethernet or dual PCI Express control planes, bridging functions, input/output (I/O) expansion and conversion, video/image processing, system management and secure connectivity. Microsemi's RTG4 FPGAs bring new capabilities to the market and combine a wealth of features with the highest quality and reliability to meet the increasing demands of modern satellite payloads. RTG4's reprogrammable flash technology offers complete immunity to radiation-induced configuration upsets in the harshest radiation environments, without the configuration scrubbing required with SRAM FPGA technology.

About Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for aerospace defense, communications, data center and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world’s standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California and has approximately 4,800 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.