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Pragmatic Semiconductor made a flexible version of the 6502 processor (2021)

29 points by fanf2 3y ago

neilv 3y ago
Is it OK to flag posts of sites with ridiculous cookie consent UI?
- dang 3y ago
  No, I'd say that falls under the 'annoyances' guideline. Obviously it's super annoying, but what should drive on/off-topicness is the content.
- pwg 3y ago
  With UblockOrigin blocking all of the javascript, there was no Cookie UI visible at all.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
userbinator 3y ago
16 years before that, I remember this: https://www.infoworld.com/article/2670067/seiko-epson-details-flexible-microprocessor.html https://www.infoworld.com/article/2670067/seiko-epson-detail...
Animats 3y ago
There's also a flexible version of 32-bit ARM.[1] [1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/23/22590001/arm-plasticarm-cheap-flexible-plastic-microchip-internet-of-everything https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/23/22590001/arm-plasticarm-c...
alted 3y ago
Pragmatic is very impressive because they're a startup that (a) is building their own chip fab and (b) said fab is much faster and cheaper than existing fabs. They claim [1] to be able to make chips from a new design in only ~4 weeks compared to the usual 3-6 months required by anyone else, which is huge for R&D. They manage this by using an unusual relatively low-performance process (which is also what allows them to use plastic substrates), but it's arguably a worthwhile tradeoff (in return for slower larger transistors, you get significantly lower equipment cost and lead times). That the chips are flexible is almost an afterthought, I think, albeit a nifty one. They've also announced efforts [2] toward open-sourcing their PDK, joining the growing movement toward open source chip design. [1] https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/foundry https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/foundry [2] https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/newsroom/blogs/democratising-ic-design https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/newsroom/blogs/democratising-i...
trelliscoded 3y ago
I can’t seem to find cost information for any of Pragmatic Semi’s parts, even their high volume RFID tags which are supposedly shipping. The 6502 seems to be a technology demonstrator that has no commercial application, as there’s no corresponding low cost power supply for their parts. Because polymer semiconductors are only about 1% efficient, it takes way more power than an energy harvester could supply.

29 points by fanf2 3y ago

neilv 3y ago

Is it OK to flag posts of sites with ridiculous cookie consent UI?

dang 3y ago
No, I'd say that falls under the 'annoyances' guideline. Obviously it's super annoying, but what should drive on/off-topicness is the content.
pwg 3y ago
With UblockOrigin blocking all of the javascript, there was no Cookie UI visible at all.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

userbinator 3y ago

16 years before that, I remember this: https://www.infoworld.com/article/2670067/seiko-epson-details-flexible-microprocessor.html https://www.infoworld.com/article/2670067/seiko-epson-detail...

Animats 3y ago

There's also a flexible version of 32-bit ARM.[1] [1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/23/22590001/arm-plasticarm-cheap-flexible-plastic-microchip-internet-of-everything https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/23/22590001/arm-plasticarm-c...

alted 3y ago

Pragmatic is very impressive because they're a startup that (a) is building their own chip fab and (b) said fab is much faster and cheaper than existing fabs. They claim [1] to be able to make chips from a new design in only ~4 weeks compared to the usual 3-6 months required by anyone else, which is huge for R&D. They manage this by using an unusual relatively low-performance process (which is also what allows them to use plastic substrates), but it's arguably a worthwhile tradeoff (in return for slower larger transistors, you get significantly lower equipment cost and lead times). That the chips are flexible is almost an afterthought, I think, albeit a nifty one. They've also announced efforts [2] toward open-sourcing their PDK, joining the growing movement toward open source chip design. [1] https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/foundry https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/foundry [2] https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/newsroom/blogs/democratising-ic-design https://www.pragmaticsemi.com/newsroom/blogs/democratising-i...

trelliscoded 3y ago

I can’t seem to find cost information for any of Pragmatic Semi’s parts, even their high volume RFID tags which are supposedly shipping. The 6502 seems to be a technology demonstrator that has no commercial application, as there’s no corresponding low cost power supply for their parts. Because polymer semiconductors are only about 1% efficient, it takes way more power than an energy harvester could supply.