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Volume 16 (Dec 12, 2003)
Technology that makes car audio systems even more enjoyable (2/2)
Leading-edge technology for the advancement of car audio systems
From the viewpoint of semiconductor makers, car audio is a rather trying application field. First of all, since car audio devices are installed inside cars—where vibrations occur frequently and there are severe temperature conditions—durability must be taken into consideration. Next, the biggest problem by far is that product size is limited. Even models that are compatible with MP3 or WMA formats must be realized within the confines of the unit. Creating a completely separate unit is simply not an option.
NEC Electronics came up with a brilliant solution to this problem. While in the past multiple chips were used to create compression audio and CD playback functions, NEC Electronics succeeded in developing the µPD63761 (Photo 1), an LSI product that combines both of these functions in a single chip. Since the LSI chip makes not only music CD but also MP3 and WMA playback possible, the merits of combined space and cost savings are unbeatable. In addition, thanks to the adoption of the CMOS process for the head amp (RF) section, gain control (regeneration of electronic signals) even more refined than that attained through bipolar process products can be achieved and music can be stably played back. Furthermore, since 1 Mbit SRAM is incorporated in this single chip, external DRAM is unnecessary when playing back MP3 or WMA recordings, which in turn contributes to further product miniaturization.
NEC Electronics also offers a wide array of microcontrollers, which are indispensable for system configuration. For car audio systems, it is essential to have software capable of controlling both individual functions such as CD head systems, as well as software that can be used to control the entire system. Microcontrollers are what make these different types of software perform effectively. NEC Electronics' 32-bit V850™ microcontrollers can be used together with the µPD63761 CD playback LSI for compression audio (Figure 2).
To continue to meet ever-changing market needs, plans are now in the works to make this CD playback LSI chip for compression audio compatible with ATRAC3, AAC and other compression technologies (Figure 3). In this way, NEC Electronics will continue to support the further development of car audio systems.
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* All other companies and product names mentioned on this page are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
