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Volume 22 (July 21, 2004)
The Challenges and Passion Behind the Creation of the V850 Series (2/2)
Part 1: Creating the world's first 32-bit single-chip microcontroller
Discussions over algorithms written on paper napkins
The customer's R&D team was made up of high-level engineers who not only had expertise in hard disks and a wealth of knowledge and experience, but also a considerable understanding of CPUs. NEC Electronics' development team, which included both Kaneko and Sugimoto, began to visit California once every two or three weeks. During these visits, intense discussions would stretch out for several hours at a time. The customer was thoroughly pursuing the issue of performance, but if the development team were to meet all of the customer's demands, the chip size would increase and in turn raise the cost. Since all of those involved were engineers, data played a fundamental role in their discussions. The development team thus continued to completely provide the customer with data, and the customer's R&D team discretely verified this data.
Once it has been decided that a new product will be adopted, it is the responsibility of the R&D team to explain the product to the production line development team and then provide support. It was therefore of utmost importance to come up with both data and a story that would satisfy the production line development team. Since it had begun to look as if the 78K Series had reached its performance limit, the production line development team would stress the importance of compatibility even if the R&D team felt it necessary to make significant changes. At one point, it even looked as if the adoption of this product might be postponed. Sometimes when he became discouraged, Sugimoto would lift his spirits by telling himself, "We are well aware of our customer's demands. If we aren't able to meet these demands, it will basically mean admitting that we have failed from a technical standpoint. As an engineer, I cannot accept that kind of failure."
There was more than a time or two when the team would go out to lunch with the customer after a morning meeting and yet again start up the discussions. There were even times when someone would write out an algorithm on a paper napkin and then go over it together with the teams. Sugimoto states, "I still have a few of those paper napkins we used." The CPU architecture was finally agreed upon in March 1993.
Intense debates within the company
At that time, this particular hard disk drive manufacturer was a very important customer. If the 32-bit RISC were to become a next-generation product, the team in charge of development would not be the team currently in charge of the 78K Series. The customer seemed to feel that there was some risk involved in this regard, and within the division numerous discussions took place regarding functions, cost, power consumption, design resource succession and whether or not there were any matters of concern that might arise later on.
During this period, a debate had begun brewing within the company itself. This was because both sales and profits were being supported by the 78K Series. Within NEC Electronics' microcontroller division, single-chip microcontrollers such as those in the 78K Series and multi-chip microcontrollers such as the V810 were originally based on completely different needs and nurtured in different cultures. For example, while single-chip microcontrollers require peripheral devices and complete lineups, CPU performance is everything when it comes to multi-chip microcontrollers. Kaneko and Sugimoto's development team, which had carried out development from a multi-chip standpoint in the past, had been charged with the task of developing a single-chip microcontroller, which went against all common sense. The 78K Series development team began to wonder if the V850 Series would be able to become the nucleus of the next generation as a single-chip microcontroller and whether or not it would be accepted by the consumer device market, which was the market through which the conventional 78K Series was sold. Kaneko and the other development team members found themselves faced with the predicament of having to simultaneously address the concerns of their customer and the doubts of people within their own company.
Issuing a press release after overcoming a myriad of challenges
The development team strongly believed they would not fail in terms of performance. Kaneko, however, confesses, "We were still slightly concerned about the cost since it was, after all, a 32-bit RISC microcontroller." This concern was eliminated thanks to the RTL design completed by Sugimoto after many hardships. Amazingly, he had realized a design with the same number of transistors (fewer than 40,000 for the CPU portion if converted using a cell-based IC) as that of the 78K Series. Sugimoto actually went as far as to set up a design environment in his own home that was in no way inferior to the one at his workplace. Despite the fact that his wedding date was fast approaching, he even spent his time at home engrossed in working on the design. It was on the day before his wedding ceremony that he finally completed the RTL design. Fortunately, he finished just in time to get to the altar and make his fiancee's dream of becoming a June bride come true. At the party following the wedding reception, Sugimoto handed over the design documentation to the other development team members and headed off on his honeymoon. It's not difficult to imagine that Sugimoto, who of course had his PC in hand when he left for his honeymoon, probably continued working on the design during his trip.
A number of problems awaited Sugimoto when he returned from his honeymoon, so he didn't even really have time to enjoy being a newlywed. There were difficulties with the production of the prototype mockup using the hardware emulator. Moreover, there were numerous tasks that had to be completed-optimizing the RTL for PROM products, determining how to meet the demand for lower power consumption, investigating the use of external emulation RAM, consolidating the design documents and more. It is rare to be given the chance to develop a product from scratch with the study of an actual application as the base. Sugimoto recalls the situation at the time, "We were filled with a desire to bring this product to fruition and create something that would ensure the customer's satisfaction."
Nearly a year later, in August 1994, the moment they had all been waiting for finally arrived. After overcoming numerous obstacles, the world's most advanced RISC 32-bit single-chip microcontroller-the V850 Series-was announced in a press release. Kaneko recalls, "It was an extremely hot day." In November of that year, Sugimoto's first daughter was born, making it a year of great joy in both his business and private life. It was also only a matter of time before delivery of the V850 Series was set to begin. However, team members knew they couldn't stop there. In working toward further increasing the product's performance and finding ways to employ it for a wide variety of applications, their next challenge was already awaiting.
