Embedded Processor Watch

Editor: Jim Turley
Sr. Editor: Tom Halfhill

In This Issue:

• TI Does Floating-Point DSP on the Cheap
• Industry Resources: Open Affinity Sessions at the Forum
• Industry Resources: Where Stupid ASIC Designers Go
• Industry Resources: Tel' e ke myu ne ka' shens
• New Embedded IC Announcements

TI Does Floating-Point DSP on the Cheap

DSP titan Texas Instruments is extending its considerable selection of DSPs at the high and low ends, introducing two new floating-point DSPs. The 'C33, at the low end, sells for as little as $5, while the 'C6711 complements TI's young 'C6211 fixed-point device (see Microprocessor Report 9/14/98, p. 11). In typical TI fashion, both chips are a long way from production, which is currently scheduled for 2Q00.

The 120-MHz 'C33 is compatible with the existing 'C30, 'C31, and 'C32 chips, but it has a much larger 1-Mbit block of local SRAM. In large (100,000-unit) quantities, the chip's price can dip below $5; in single units, the 'C33 is priced closer to $20. Because the 'C3x family uses a 2x clock multiplier, the 'C33 should deliver 60 (not 120) native MIPS, comparable with ADI's 2106x SHARC chips.

The new 'C6711 is based on the eight-way VLIW core of its 'C6201 progenitor (see Embedded Processor Watch #12). Like the fixed-point 'C6211, the 'C6711 has an unusual two-level internal memory structure. Its 64K block of SRAM can be carved into 16K blocks of SRAM or cache, at the user's option. The 'C6711 will be offered at 100 and 150 MHz; like the 'C33, the chips are built in TI's new 0.18-micron process.

TI's 'C3x family has enjoyed considerable success in the past, but TI has let the family stagnate, leading some to speculate that the family would be passed over for further development. This announcement is a definitive refutation of that speculation--TI is bringing the 'C3x up to date with respect to clock speed and on-chip memory. [Thanks to Jeff Bier, BDTI--ed.]

Industry Resources: Open Affinity Sessions at the Forum

The evenings at Embedded Processor Forum will be just as lively and topical as the days. On the evening of May 4, between the two days of the main conference, the Forum will play host to three parallel affinity, or "birds of a feather," sessions. Each session starts at 7:30, shortly after the evening's lavish banquet reception opens.

Forum attendees can sit in, listen to, and participate with industry experts discussing "Java Acceleration in Hardware," Penton publishing's survey "What Are Embedded Designers Really Using--and Why?," or the EEMBC members' first public disclosure of their embedded benchmark results. All three sessions are hosted by experts in their respective field, and provide an ideal "off the record" opportunity to discuss, debate, and dissect the claims and counterclaims surrounding these three hot topics. Be sure to make your voice heard!

Admission to the Tuesday evening affinity sessions is free to all Forum attendees and invited guests. For more information on Embedded Processor Forum, held May 3-6 in San Jose, call MDR (Sebastopol, Calif.) at 800.527.0288 or visit http://www.MDRonline.com/epf.

Industry Resources: Where Stupid ASIC Designers Go

Into the pages of "It's the Methodology, Stupid," a 200-page hardcover book covering the design flow and methods of chip-level design and design tools. Written by Pran Kurup, Taher Abbasi, and Ricky Bedi, the $62 book is published by their consulting company, ByteK Designs. It covers, at a relatively high level, the ins and outs of different ASIC- design tools, deep-submicron effects, behavioral synthesis, design verification, timing analysis, and floor planning.

For more information, contact ByteK (Palo Alto, Calif.) at 650.813.1230 or visit http://www.bytekinc.com.

Industry Resources: Tel' e ke myu ne ka' shens

CRC Press has released the Data and Telecommunications Dictionary, a 768-page compendium of terms with "colorful, easy-to-understand" coverage of close to 7,500 entries. Edited by Julie K. Peterson, the book is just one of the publisher's Advanced and Emerging Communications Technologies series.

Copies of the book (ISBN 0-8493-9591-7) sell for $50. For more information, or to order, contact CRC Press (Boca Raton, Florida) at 800.272.7737 or visit http://www.crcpress.com.

New Embedded IC Announcements

S3041, S3042 (AMCC) OC-48 transmitter/receiver pair incorporates on-chip PLL, front-end system timing is compliant with HP's laser-based fiber transceiver. Price: $269/100; Production: Now; Call AMCC at 619.535.4260.

WM9704M (Wolfson) PC audio codec has integrated PCI, 18-bit precision, AC97 compliance; mixed 3.3-V/5-V operating voltage; in TQFP-48 package. Price: $2.54/10,000; Production: Now; Call Wolfson at +44 (0)131 667 9386.

ADP3605 (Analog Devices) Voltage inverter operates from 3-6 volts, with 250-kHz switching frequency; -40 degrees C to +85 degrees C operating range; in TSSOP and SOIC. Price: $1.20/1,000 Production: Now; Call ADI at 800.262.5643.

ADM101E (Analog Devices) ESD-protected RS-232 transceiver for space- constrained applications, with 15-kV ESD protection, in 10-lead uSOIC package. Price: $0.77/1,000; Production: Now; Call ADI at 800.262.5643.

EasyFlash (WSI) Integrates 128 Kbytes flash memory, a programmable MCU, extra I/O, and is available in 52-pin PLCC and 64-pin TQFP packages. Price: $5.45/10,000; Production: Now; Call WSI at 510.498.1723.

SAA6712 (Phillips) Video/graphic controller packaged in a 292-pin PBGA accepts 24-bit single-pixel RGB data and 48-bit double-pixel interlaced formats. Price: $30/10,000; Production: Now; Call Philips at 408.991.2332.