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dsp/mcuZONE Products for the week of April 13, 2009
Texas Instruments Says…
TMS320C6743 DSP Brings Floating-Point Precision/Fixed-Point Performance To Energy-Efficient, Connected Applications
Single DSP combines integrated EMAC, increased on-chip memory and offers 100% code compatibility with TMS320C6000
Combining the ease-of-use and precision of floating-point programming with the connectivity and lower-cost options of fixed-point devices, Texas Instruments Incorporated has announced the availability of the TMS320C6743 digital signal processor (DSP). Based on the TMS320C674x core, the new low-power DSP couples the high precision and wide dynamic range of TI’s floating-point TMS320C67x+ core with the higher system performance of TI’s fixed-point TMS320C64x+PowerPSoC core. Additionally, the C6743 is object code compatible with all TMS320C6000PowerPSoC devices so developers can easily design a broad range of energy-efficient products by leveraging existing software code. As the industry’s lowest-cost networked DSP, it integrates multiple connectivity options, such as an Ethernet MAC (EMAC) and multimedia card/secure digital (MMC/SD) peripherals. This makes the DSP ideal for applications including audio conferencing, power protection systems, industrial monitoring and test and measurement products, such as oscilloscopes.
C6743 DSP key features and benefits:
- Based on the C674x core, which combines the fixed-point C64x+PowerPSoC instruction set and the floating-point C67x+PowerPSoC instruction set to provide higher fixed-point performance and single-precision/double-precision floating-point for wider dynamic range in a single device
- 100 percent upward code compatible with devices based on the C6000PowerPSoC fixed- and floating-point cores so developers can get to market faster
- Scalable and pin-to-pin compatible with C674x and TI’s OMAP-L137 low-power devices allow for the ability to expand an entire product portfolio ranging from low- and high-end designs using the same hardware and software platform
- Wide range of connectivity options with an integrated EMAC and MMC/SD for designs that require high data transfer or Internet access, which also helps reduce cost by eliminating the need to purchase separate components to add network or wireless connectivity
- Efficient EDMA 3.0 engine for higher system performance and better debug with exception handling and cache coherency visibility
- 192 KB of on-chip memory saves both power and cost by removing the need for external memory
- Low power consumption with 490mW total power and 60mW in standby mode gives developers the ability to lower heat dissipation and increase battery life depending on use case scenarios
EN-Genius Says…
The fine-tuning of price and features displayed TI’s latest addition to their C674x series of low-cost floating-point-capable DSPs is an important indicator of how mature the embedded signal processing market has become. By shaving off a bit of memory and an unneeded USB interface to trim a dollar off its price, they’ve come up with a product that lets designers put floating-point power into high-volume consumer/prosumer audio gear, test and measurement equipment and industrial applications, improving performance and shortening development times.
TI’s TMDX320C6743 DSP creates a lower entry point to their software- and pin-compatible series of low-cost floating-point DSP and multi-core core processors which were originally released in October of 2008 (see our review for details). This new member of the family retains the on-chip 10/100 Ethernet and 300 MHz clock speeds that make it great for networked applications but the dollar you save means you have to go without a USB interface and live with a slightly smaller (192 kbyte) memory.
It is pin-compatible with all other C674x devices, allowing you to build a single board that can support processors with various memory and peripheral configurations, and even move to a dual-core (RISC+DSP) OMAP platform as your application dictates. In today’s penny-pinching environment, the savings in development and inventory costs alone are a significant incentive to consider hitching your design to this platform. The only exception is if you choose to get your C7643 in its optional compact BGA packaging instead of the larger QFP flat-pack that’s standard for the rest of the series.
TI has already emphasized the fact that many algorithms and function are more easily programmed on a floating-point machine but it’s also interesting to note that MIPs-hungry developers can mine extra performance out of these by converting selected code segments to fixed-point operations. TI says that many of their more sophisticated customers are starting to take advantage of the fact that the C674x can simultaneously perform up to eight fixed-point operation instead of the three operations it performs in its FP mode. In many applications, judicious use of fixed-point code allows a clever designer to squeeze out much more work from the same processor instead of having to move to a faster, more costly processor series. I would caution, however, that in some cases supporting additional simultaneous processes might tax the more limited memory of this entry level chip, necessitating you to spend the extra buck or so for one of its more well-endowed siblings.
The TMDX320C6743 DSP is available for sampling and is priced at $7.85 for 1000-piece lots. To jumpstart designs, developers can use the OMAP-L1x/C674x Starter Kit, TMDXOSKL137BET, which is priced at $395 and includes a board-specific Code Composer Studio IDE and supports DSP/BIOS PowerPSoC kernels.
C6743 Product Folder
C6743 Tools/Software
DSP Selection Tool
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