Cadence Unveils Tensilica ConnX B20 DSP: 30× Faster for 5G & Automotive Radar

Cadence Design Systems has launched the Cadence Tensilica ConnX B20 DSP IP, the fastest member of its well‑known ConnX family. Built on a deeper pipeline architecture, the ConnX B20 delivers superior speed and power efficiency for automotive and 5G communications, including next‑generation radar, lidar, vehicle‑to‑everything (V2X), user‑equipment infrastructure, and IoT use cases. Compared with the widely used ConnX BBE32EP DSP, the B20 can accelerate segments of the communications stack up to 30× and parts of the radar/lidar pipeline up to 10×.

Higher‑resolution imaging radar with more antennas for autonomous driving, the rise of 5G mobile equipment, and consumer‑grade radar all demand dramatically more processing power while staying energy‑efficient. The new ConnX B20 and its companion B10 DSPs meet those requirements, offering higher performance and lower energy consumption across a broad range of applications.

The B20 is fully compatible with the existing ConnX DSP family (BBE16/32/64EP). It features a 512‑bit vector width, 128 MACs, and can load 1,024 bits of data each cycle. Operated at 1.4 GHz or higher in a 16 nm process, the core extends the family’s performance spectrum. Designers can select higher precision with 32‑bit fixed‑point operations (optimised for MAC, FFT, FIR) or single‑/half‑precision vector floating‑point (VFPU) operations, where half‑precision delivers twice the throughput of single‑precision. An extended VFPU adds complex floating‑point support, doubling real‑floating‑point operations at the same vector width – ideal for the front‑end radar processing chain. A dedicated communications option accelerates forward‑error correction (FEC) for software‑defined radio at lower bit‑rates.

With its native 32‑bit support and higher clock speed, the ConnX B20 delivers up to 10× faster performance for radar/lidar processing compared to the popular ConnX BBE32EP. The clock‑speed boost and FEC acceleration make it up to 30× faster for parts of the communication chain. Both the B20 and B10 provide customers with scalable performance and efficiency while preserving the familiar ConnX architecture and development environment. Fast software development is enabled by advanced compilers, debugging and simulation tools, and an optimised math library with ready‑made application examples.