Apr 10, 2001
Along with a highly efficient C/C++ compiler, the device features a host of on-chip telephony and general-purpose interfaces, four power-down modes, a unified memory structure and on-core caching.
By offering standard telecommunications algorithms with the ADSP-2191, Analog Devices (Norwood, Mass.) is indicating a changed approach to customer support, said product marketing manager Joseph Salamone. "This is to cater to our many customers who want complete solutions," he said. "In the past we've had third parties provide the software, but on the 219X we're going to supply the total solution with algorithms that have been optimized for size and speed."
On an application level, the 2191 is closest to the company's 2187 DSP. Compared to that device, "we've not only doubled the Mips count, but we've also kept the cost the same," Salamone said. "So we're effectively offering double the number of voice channels � 18 G.711 channels versus eight." And by maintaining full code compatibility, "the 2191 effectively offers an immediate upgrade path to over ten-thousand 2187 customers who need greater performance to create new applications quickly," Salamone said.
The C/C++ compiler is 50 percent more efficient than the nearest competitor, Salamone said. "This is important, as C and C++ are rapidly becoming the most commonly-used languages for DSPs," he said.
The 2191 has added three enhanced serial ports and supports up to 128 channels, while the 2187 supported 32 channels with the same memory size. The 2191 includes boot ROM, which allows any serial port to boot the DSP. Two full-duplex serial peripheral interface ports allow the device to target industrial and instrumentation applications, the company said. Full JTAG compliance and a programmable system clock have also been added over the 2187 feature set.
The device will consume less than 90 microamps in standby mode. "While the power consumption isn't much lower than the 2187, the flexibility is there to optimize the power consumption to the particular application," Salamone said.
Three multichannel serial ports have built-in T1, E1 and H.100 compatibility for telephony equipment. Potential telecom applications include echo cancellation, PBX voice gateways, voice-over-Internet Protocol gateways, remote access servers and DSL central-office modems.
Both 8-bit and 16-bit host port interfaces are included, and the 16-bit external memory interface can operate in 8-bit or 16-bit mode.
With a unified memory space, "a programmer can do dual data transfers in a single cycle if the instruction is pre-cached," said Salamone.
The ADSP-2191 is now sampling to select customers and will be available for general sampling in June. Full production is expected by year's end, priced at $15 each in quantities of 10,000.
