Digital ICs/DSP: DSP Controllers Deliver 100 MIPS To Take On Demanding Applications

Dec. 4, 2003

A control-optimized series of DSPs will provide a throughput of 100 MIPS for less than $5 in volume. The TMS320F2801, TMS320F2806, and TMS320F2808 offer performance levels more than 150% higher than other flash-based controllers. They provide a migration path to digital-signal controllers without giving up the control peripherals and ease of use expected from microcontrollers. Along with the DSP core, the controllers include a CAN controller; a watchdog timer; several event managers; several communication peripherals, such as SPI, SCI, and I²C; and high-speed flash memory (up to 64 kwords of storage) with code-security protection. The chips also include up to 18 kwords of RAM. Samples will be available in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Texas Instruments Inc.www.ti.com

About the Author

Dave Bursky

Technologist

Dave Bursky, the founder of New Ideas in Communications, a publication website featuring the blog column Chipnastics – the Art and Science of Chip Design. He is also president of PRN Engineering, a technical writing and market consulting company. Prior to these organizations, he spent about a dozen years as a contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Concurrent with Chip Design, he was also the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products, and prior to Maxim, Dave spent over 35 years working as an engineer for the U.S. Army Electronics Command and an editor with Electronic Design Magazine.