June 5, 2012 -- EnSilica, Ltd. announced that Xtendwave has licensed its high-performance eSi-3200 32-bit processor core to power Everset, Xtendwave's time code receiver solution for the next-generation WWVB atomic time-keeping signal. The new signal, broadcast by NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology), will represent the official time of the USA and includes the implementation of daylight saving time and leap seconds.

Xtendwave, a fabless semiconductor company focused on the development of physical-layer communication technologies, is developing Everset as both a chip and IP solution to provide electronic clock and appliance manufacturers with a low-cost, low-power solution for receiving and decoding the new time-keeping signal. The signal adopts an advanced communications protocol based on a new modulation and coding scheme. Xtendwave is developing Everset as part of its contract with NIST to design the new WWVB broadcasting system to overcome reception problems in certain locations and environments by enhancing performance and sensitivity as well as improving robustness to interference.

Xtendwave chose EnSilica's eSi-3200 processor for Everset following extensive evaluation against a competing solution from the industry's primary supplier of embedded processors. Several key factors were crucial to Xtendwave's choice of the eSi-3200: low gate-count, performance, low power, high code density, compact silicon area and ease of integration. EnSilica's flexible licensing model will also facilitate the proliferation of the solution by allowing its deployment in third-party products.

EnSilica provided Xtendwave with a version of eSi-3200 optimized for the Everset application, configuring it to reduce the overall processor gate count by half compared to the competing solution. The optimized version also featured custom trigonometric instructions reducing cycle count by 30% and a 2-kByte reduction in valuable memory space. "EnSilica's eSi-3200 processor clearly proved the superior choice both technically and commercially following our evaluation," said Oren Eliezer, Xtendwave's Chief Technology Officer. "Technically, it was the best solution for our demanding performance criteria. Commercially, EnSilica's flexible licensing model will not only enable us to proliferate the technology but also open up a wealth of new applications."