Linux-capable, RISC-V SoC processor and board
The U540 is based on SiFive’s Coreplex U54-MC intellectual property that was launched in October 2017 (see SiFive launches Linux-ready RISC-V quad-core processor). The Coreplex U54-MC is a 64bit quad-processor IP core with support for Linux, Unix and FreeBSD.
The Freedom U540 SoC has been demonstrated on the HiFive Unleashed board
The HiFive Unleashed development board will be a spur to open-source software development and the underlying CPU, the U54-MC Core IP, is suitable for applications such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, networking, gateways and smart IoT devices, SiFive said.
Freedom U540 processor run its 4+1 coherent multicore CPU at up to 1.5GHz and provides 2Mbytes of L2 cache memory with 64bit DDR4 memory channel with ECC and a 1Gbps Ethernet connection. The chip is built in 28nm CMOS manufacturing process.
The HiFive Unleashed board contains the U540 SoC and 8Gbytes of DDR4 memory, 32Mbytes of quad SPI flash, a Gigabit Ethernet port, MicroSD card for removable storage and an FMC connector for add-in card.
A limited batch of HiFive boards will ship in March 2018, with wider release due in June.
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