Device Spotlight:

Texas Instruments’ new floating-point TMS320C674x and OMAP-L13x processors are welcome news for designers who want a floating-point DSP but are dissatisfied with the cost and power of existing processors. These processors are also attractive for fixed-point applications thanks to their new connectivity options and the inclusion of an ARM9 in the dual-core OMAP-L13x.

The lineup includes three C674x DSPs with speeds up to 300 MHz, memory up to 448 KB, and various combinations of peripherals. The OMAP-L13x adds a 300 MHz ARM core to the mix, and bumps memory up to 488 KB. (See chart.) All four devices share pin-to-pin compatibility. Pricing in 1000- unit quantities runs from $6.70 for the C6742 to $18.60 for the OMAP-L138.



All four processors are based on the new C674x DSP core. The new core is the first major floating- point architecture announced in years, and it represents a major change in direction for TI. Until now, TI’s fixed- and floating-point families have evolved on separate roadmaps, and the architectures have offered only partial compatibility with one another. In contrast, the C674x offers full compatibility with TI’s C64x+ fixed-point core and C67x+ floating-point core. Thus, the C647x lets designers leverage the full universe of software written for C6000 DSPs.

TI has also managed to eliminate much of the baggage associated with floating-point processors. Floating-point processing offers several distinct advantages over fixed-point—most notably, it speeds development by eliminating the need for input scaling—but these advantage have traditionally been coupled with high power and cost. Not so with TI’s new chips, which incorporate aggressive power management and dynamic voltage and frequency scaling. The DSP core burns only 261 mW at 300 MHz and 1.2 V, and it can be cranked down to as little as 30 mW by reducing the speed to 50 MHz at 1.0 V. The devices also boast an impressively low standby power of 7mW—about 9x lower than on TI’s older floating-point DSPs.

On the cost front, TI’s new parts starts under $7, making floating-point just a notch more expensive than fixed-point DSPs. With the additional BOM savings achieved by the device’s built-in connectivity, pricing can be even more competitive. The connectivity options include SATA, Ethernet MAC, USB 2.0, Multimedia Card/Secure Digital (MMC/SD), and a Universal Parallel Port (uPP) that can be used as a high-speed FPGA interface. The Serial ATA controller is particularly noteworthy, as it’s the first time a SATA interface has been incorporated into either a DSP or DSP+ARM chip.

All four processors are available now. More information on the processors is available at the following pages:

OMAP-L138: focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/omap-l138.html
C6742: focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tms320c6742.html
C6746: focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tms320c6746.html
C6748: focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tms320c6748.html

For more information on integrating these TI processors into your design applications, contact Nuvation at sales@nuvation.com.