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 With last year's introduction of the TMS320C6201 fixed-point digital signal processor (DSP), Texas Instruments turned up the heat on providing developers with more performance for sophisticated applications. This year the push continues with the disclosure of the TMS320C6701 floating-point DSP, the first product from TI's 'C67x floating-point DSP generation. The new DSP is both pin- and code-compatible with the industry-leading fixed-point 'C62x DSP, creating a fixed- and floating-point universal platform, which enables 100 percent reuse of fixed-point code for faster time-to-market. In addition, a new TI mixed-signal data converter connects to the DSP, providing an advanced DSP solution. TI's TMS320C6000 architecture recently captured EDN's 1997 Innovation of the Year Award, an honor that recognizes outstanding products in the electronics industry. "A code-compatible fixed- and floating-point architecture will provide our customers with a universal platform for DSP application design," said Mike Hames, Semiconductor Group vice president and worldwide DSP manager. "A single development team can now create both fixed- and floating-point designs using the same tool set, the same code and even the same socket. Thanks to this flexibility, developers can achieve faster time-to-market and greater development cost savings while leveraging the highest performance DSPs on the market for product innovation." 1-GFLOPS performance Operating at 1 billion floating-point operations per second (1-GFLOPS) at 167 MHz, the 'C6701 DSP provides up to 10 times the performance of today's floating-point DSPs. This high performance level will allow manufacturers to reduce system chip count from as many as 10 DSP chips down to a single 'C6701.
 The 'C6701 performance will enable faster speed, precision and dynamic range in next-generation applications such as wireless local loop and beam-forming base stations, virtual reality 3-D graphics, speech recognition, audio, radar, industrial control and imaging such as fingerprint recognition, CAT scan, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The 'C6701 is the first product based on the TMS320C67x 32-bit, floating-point core TI announced last October. All peripherals on the 'C6701 are 100 percent compatible with the fixed-point TMS320C6201, which is now in volume production. This allows designers currently developing with the 'C6201 to get 100 percent reusable hardware for a true drop and go transition. TI plans to triple the performance of the 'C67x to 3 GFLOPS by the end of the decade and offer low-cost and multiprocessor 'C67x products. The 'C67x product line extends the advanced Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) VelociTI™ architecture TI developed for its industry-leading 'C62x fixed-point DSPs. The first 'C62x product, the 'C6201, can execute 1600 million instructions per second (MIPS), up to 10 times the performance of other fixed-point DSPs. Useful tools The 'C6000 architecture is complemented by an ultra-efficient C compiler that supports both fixed- and floating-point and cuts development time in half by allowing programmers to write high-performance code in a familiar high-level language. Since the 'C67x instructions are a superset of the 'C62x instructions, developers can write and test programs on fixed-point 'C6201 devices, knowing that the same code will run successfully on the 'C6701. Conversely, when 'C6701 devices become available, developers can write and test programs on floating-point design, then easily migrate their systems to more cost-efficient, fixed-point solutions. The new floating-point DSP complements TI's existing floating-point product lines, the TMS320C3x and TMS320C4x, which represent the largest floating-point DSP customer base in the world. TI plans to offer a software translation assistant for existing floating-point customers who want more performance for their 'C3x and 'C4x designs. TI also offers the 'C62x EVM, which incorporates a 'C6201 DSP. In addition to TI's tools, other support is available to simplify development and speed time-to-market. Developers can turn to the world's largest network of DSP third parties for software and hardware tools and design support. To date, 19 TI DSP third parties have started development to support the 'C6701 product. Availability Sampling of the 'C6701 floating-point DSP is planned for the second half of 1998. Volume production is planned for the first half of 1999. Once in volume, the device will be available in a 352-pin ball grid array (BGA), with pricing planned at $196 (U.S.) each in quantities of 25,000. Military versions are planned in a 429-pin ceramic BGA. The 'C62x EVM costs $995 (U.S.). Customers who purchase it now through Oct. 15, 1998, will receive a free set of 'C6000 code generation tools valued at $1,495 (U.S.). A floating-point version of the EVM is scheduled to be available in the second half of 1998. The TMS320C6201 fixed-point DSP, now in volume production, is packaged in a 352-pin BGA. The TMS320C6000 Release 2.00 toolset is available and being shipped to registered 'C62x and 'C67x customers. All products are available from TI and authorized distributors. VelociTI is a trademark of Texas Instruments. For complete information, order: 'C67x Product Bulletin (SPRT158) and 'C62x EVM Product Bulletin (SPRT159). See Order form |