Latest DSPs Provide Unmatched Connectivity Options, Power Efficiency

Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) has released four new processors—the TMS320C6742, the TMS320C6746, the TMS320C6748 and the OMAP-L138—with unmatched connectivity options and fixed- and floating-point capabilities that are also the industry’s lowest power floating-point digital signal processors (DSPs).

The devices reduce overall system cost for a wide spectrum of products including industrial, communications, medical diagnostics and audio. For instance, power protection systems benefit from the OMAP-L138 device’s fixed/floating-point DSP, ARM9, Ethernet MAC (EMAC) and LCD controller for up to $14 cost reduction compared to current solutions.

For applications that need high-speed data transfer and high-capacity storage, such as test and measurement, public safety radios, music effects and intelligent occupancy sensors, the processors feature a universal parallel port (uPP) and are also the first TI devices with an integrated Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA).

With performance levels up to 300MHz, these products offer the ability to manage on-chip power through dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) and multiple power down modes. When coupled with TI power management software and complementary analog solutions, developers can optimize their system for performance and power without having to be an energy expert. To ease and reduce development time, the new offerings are pin-for-pin compatible, code compatible with all TMS320C6000 devices and complemented by a low-cost experimenter board and full-featured evaluation module (EVM).

Other key features and benefits of the C6742, C6746 and C6748 DSPs are the following:
• Lowest-cost and lowest-power C6000 processors and industry’s lowest-power floating-point DSPs with 420mW total power and 7mW at 1V standby power in use case scenarios
• Standby power up to nine times lower than existing floating-point DSP solutions on market
• EMAC, multimedia card/secure digital (MMC/SD) and high-speed USB 2.0/1.1 for desktop, network or portable connectivity or storage
• Video port interface provides the ability to input/output raw video while a LCD controller allows developers to easily connect video graphics array (VGA) resolution displays
• Multiple operating points facilitated through DVFS, powering off unused peripherals and selectable I/O voltages enable portability and reduce heat dissipation in products
• Complementary TI TPS65070 power management device implements all sequence and default options as well as supports the devices’ power modes
• C674x core up to 300MHz provides floating-point operations for high-precision and wide dynamic range as well as fixed-point operations for higher performance
• Pin-for-pin compatibility (C6742, C6746, C6748 and OMAP-L138) enables customer to expand their entire product portfolio using the same hardware and software platform
• 128kB to 448kB on-chip memory to reduce external memory access and power usage

The OMAP-L138 processor features and benefits are the following:
• Dual-core processor that builds on the C6748 DSP with a 300MHz ARM9 gives developers the flexibility to add intuitive human machine interfaces, touch screens or networking capability to their applications
• ARM9 allows developers to implement high-level operating systems, such as Linux
• Windows Embedded CE and Integrity support is expected in 4Q09
• Low power usage with 440mW total power and 15mW in standby mode in use case scenarios

TI's TMS320C6742 product folder

TI's TMS320C6746 product folder

TI's TMS320C6748 product folder

TI's OMAP-L138 product folder

TI's OMAP-L138 datasheet

TI's TMS320C674x datasheet

TI's OMAP-L138/C674x development tools

TI's Power Management for processors

TI's e2e community for OMAP-L1x

TI's e2e community for TMS320C674x

Texas Instruments


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