Press Release
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Aston Bridgman
NEC Corporation
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*****For immediate use November 12, 1998
NEC Release of Low-Power-Consumption Digital Signal Processor with Large-Capacity Memory for Mobile Devices
![[Digital Signal Processor]](images/1201.jpg) |
| Digital Signal Processor with Large-Capacity Memory,"µPD77110" |
NEC Corporation (NEC) will start shipping samples from December 1998 of a high-speed 16-bit digital signal processor (DSP), the µPD77110, that offers both the world's lowest power consumption performance and the industry's largest-capacity of on-board memory in a DSP. Volume production is to begin from February 1999.
DSPs handle product-sum operations, which are all-important for video and audio applications in such areas as consumer electronics and mobile communications, at much higher speeds than general-purpose microprocessors making them a key device for multimedia developments.
This new product, which maintains program compatibility with NEC's 16-bit µPD77016 family of DSPs, offers 238Kbytes (1.9Mbit) of on-chip instruction and data RAM, the largest-capacity in its class. This large RAM enables devices using this DSP to be upgraded through software without the need for hardware modifications, by simply downloading the modified program. With the mask ROM area of the chip consisting entirely of RAM, the product can be used as an evaluation device prior to masking mask ROM devices, as well as for integrated debuggers prior to the development of System On a Chip products, thereby significantly cutting program development time.
Use of the latest 0.25-micron process technology, and optimization of circuit design to minimize current consumption, also enables the µPD77110 to boast the world's lowest power consumption performance of 0.5-mA/MHz. This low power consumption performance (one-quarter that of NEC's previous DSP) provides digital cellular telephones with the ability to use the PSI CELP voice coding format at 35mW (2.5-V operation) and therefore makes it the device of choice for mobile applications.
The 75MHz µPD77110 maintains architecture and program compatibility with NEC's 16-bit µPD77016 and enables the use of the latter's Windows® 95* based development tools, which are noted for their ease of use.
Background
Among audio and video applications, DSPs are being employed on a wide scale in the fast-growing mobile device market, particularly for voice CODEC (compression / decompression) in cellular telephones. They are also increasingly being employed for speech recognition and are expect to be indispensable devices for realizing visual communications applications in the future.
NEC is already marketing high-speed 16-bit fixed point DSPs (the µPD77016 family) and began mass production this August of the µPD77111, a low-power-consumption mask ROM DSP designed for digital cellular telephones.
Mobile devices including cellular telephones, require low power consumption for long continuous usage, and light weight. For this reason, each component, particularly the key DSP, is required to achieve even lower power consumption and compact size. A further requirement dictated by the rapid pace of technological innovation in the market for mobile devices, is that sets be supplied on a timely basis, necessitating easy development of DSP programs.
16-bit Fixed-Point µPD77112 DSP
Along with the µPD77110, NEC also plans to release the 16-bit fixed-point µPD77112 DSP, and a real-time OS for the µPD77016 family of DSPs.
The µPD77112 features equivalent functions to those of the µPD77111. With an expanded external data memory area, it is well suited for processing voluminous data such as image processing. It is also pin compatible with the µPD77110. The real-time OS has functions that allow easy task management and memory resources management. Compared to the previous operating systems for DSPs, this OS distinguishes itself by requiring smaller memory resources and a reduced processing volume to make the best use of DSP functions for performing real-time processing.
NEC believes its new product will provide the market with a DSP that meets the requirements of mobile devices, especially in combination with NEC's voice signal processing middleware (voice codec, acoustic echo canceller, video codec, etc.).
NEC continues to actively develop basic technologies to realize multimedia in telecommunications and other fields, as well as DSPs and middleware for digital cellular telephones of the next generation, and expand sales activities toward fields that require these technological innovations.
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Note:
* : Windows® 95 is an abbreviation of the Microsoft® Windows® 95 Operating System. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
