EDN’s 1994 DSP - Chip Directory
Posted on January 7th, 2009 by admin
The 1994 EDN DSP-Chip Directory is a keeper: Not only have we revised and updated last year's chip specs, but we've also added new entries, including Zoran's 16-bit fixed-point ZR38000, the Texas Instruments' 32-bit MVP, and Analog Devices' SHARC, a 32-bit floating-point DSP.
The 16-bit fixed-point devices continue to dominate low-cost applications. As new variations of each DSP µP hit the market, each family fills a greater variety of applications. The largest markets for these 16-bit speedsters include telecommunications, digital cellular telephones, and disk drives.
Floating-point DSPs are being designed in by the cluster. Often you'll see products that, instead of having just a couple of DSPs within, have many. For a number of years, designers generally thought floating-point DSPs would be used for prototyping fixed-point DSP-based
products. Even though floating-point devices are easier to use, most developers aren't opting to use them as a crutch. As a result, floating-point devices end up in applications where the three most important design criteria are performance, performance, and performance.
Designing with DSPs continues to get easier. You can now buy world-class software-development tools. And in many cases, you don't even need to write the code—you can just buy the algorithms premade. For example, TI has created the TMS320 Software Cooperative, which offers a collection of algorithm data sheets. You select the algorithm you want by paging through the packet.
Getting a DSP-based board to work with Microsoft's Windows is also getting easier. In conjunction with DSP real-time operating-system (RTOS) vendors, Microsoft is busy creating a standard method for applications to call for DSP functions. Any DSP-based board that works within the guidelines of the standard can be plugged into the PC and used with any application.
Another year of above-average growth for DSPs hasn't been affected by a marketing myth that superfast CISC or RISC µPs will begin to replace DSPs. In many cases, the replacement trend is working the other way. The supremely fast DSP is using surplus cycles to replace slower microcontrollers.
As you flip through the following pages, you'll find a comprehensive listing of the major DSP chips, ranging from stripped-down, 16-bit, fixed-point processors to full-blown, 32-bit floating-point processors. Each chip family has its own page full of architectural information and a quick run-down of variations, peripherals, and price/packaging information. If your time's limited, check out the handy reference tables in the upper-right corner of each page—we've noted important feature and performance specs in an easy-to-read format. Keep a copy of the directory as a reference for your design work throughout the coming year.
—Additional reporting by Contributing
Editors Ray Weiss and David Shear
DSP-Chip Directory Index
Supplier DSP chip Type Page Circle No.
Analog Devices ADSP-2100 Family 16-bit fixed-point 79 484
ADSP-21020 32-bit floating-point 80 485
ADSP-2106x 32-bit floating-point 83 486
AT&T ADSP16xx 16-bit fixed-point 84 487
ADSP32C/3210 32-bit floating-point 95 488
DSP Group, Semiconductor Division Oak/Pine Core 16-bit fixed-point 96 489
Motorola DSP56156/166 16-bit fixed-point 99 490
DSP56001/2/4 24-bit fixed-point 100 491
DSP96002 32-bit floating-point 105 492
NEC µPD77C25 16-bit fixed-point 106 493
µPD77017 16-bit fixed-point 109 494
µPD77220 24-bit fixed-point 110 495
SGS-Thomson ST18 Family 16-bit fixed-point 113 496
Star Semiconductor SPROC-1x00 Family 24-bit multiprocessor 114 497
Texas Instruments TMS320C1x 16-bit fixed-point 117 498, 499
TMS320C2x 16-bit fixed-point 120 500
TMS320C3x 32-bit floating-point 123 501
TMS320C4x 32-bit floating-point 124 502
TMS320C5x 16-bit fixed-point 126 503
TMS320C80 32-bit multiprocessor 131 504
Zilog Z89Cxx 16-bit fixed-point 132 505
Zoran Corp ZR38000 16-bit fixed-point 135 506
Key to abbreviations in schematicsAB—combined program-and-data address bus
ACC—accumulator
ADC/DAC—analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters
ADDR GEN—address generator
ALU—arithmetic logic unit
BIT MANIP—bit manipulation
BS—barrel shifter
CDB—control data bus
CM—cache memory
CPUB—CPU bus
DAB—data address bus
DB—combined program-and-data data bus
DDB—data data bus
DM—memory for data only DMAAB—DMA address bus
DMADB—DMA data bus
DMAC—DMA controller
FP—floating point
FX—fixed point
GDB—global data bus
HOST INTER—host interface
IDB—instruction data bus
INT—external interrupt
MAC—multiply/accumulate
MULT—multiplier
PAB—program address bus
PDB—program data bus
P/DM—program and data memory
PIO—parallel I/O
PM—memory for program only
PPCP—parallel processor communications port PRAB—peripheral address bus
PRDB—peripheral data bus
REG—register
REGB—register bus
SIO—serial I/O
TIM—timer
XAB—external address bus
XDB—external data bus
XDAB—external data address bus
XDDB—external data data bus
XIOAB—external I/O address bus
XIODB—external I/O data bus
XPAB—external program address bus
XPDB—external program data bus
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