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Bristol-based start-up XMOS Semiconductor has received test chips for its first generation of Software Defined Silicon (SDS) products, a new class of programmable semiconductor that it hopes will merge the advantages of programmable logic with those of standard cell. The devices have been produced by TSMC on its 90nm G process. Central to the technology is a compact, event-driven, multi-threaded processor called XCore. With up to 500MIPS to share across up to 8 threads, the processor core's engine can implement a range of complex hardware functions. Access to its computational and control capabilities is through a simple-to-follow embedded-software design flow. By using C-based behavioural languages, designers will be able to map white-board functional specifications into silicon. The processor is coupled to the outside world through a set of event-driven input-output ports, and inter-thread communication is provided by XLink, a channel mechanism that allows threads and cores to interact at the hardware level. The company believes that its solution will offer OEMs the means to realise their system designs without being tied down by the volume, time-to-market, and initial expense issues inherent in ASIC designs and without the power-consumption and performance limitations of an FPGA. Engineering samples are expected to be available by summer 2008.