SC140 DSP Core Reference Manual
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Chapter 1
Introduction
The StarCore SC140 digital signal processing (DSP) core is the first implementation of an innovative
architecture that addresses the key market needs of next-generation DSP applications (especially wireline
and wireless communications, including infrastructure and subscriber communications). The SC140 core
is a flexible programmable DSP core which enables the emergence of computational-intensive
communication applications by providing exceptional performance, low power consumption, efficient
compilability, and compact code density. The SC140 core efficiently deploys a variable-length execution
set (VLES) execution model which utilizes maximum parallelism by allowing multiple address generation
and data arithmetic logic units to execute multiple instructions in a single clock cycle.
This chapter describes key features of the SC140 core architecture as well as introduces available software
development tools. In addition, this chapter provides an overview of the target markets for the SC140 core.
1.1 Target Markets
The design of the SC140 architecture aims to provide a DSP software platform that fulfills the constantly
increasing computational requirements of DSP applications due to:
New communication standards and services
Wideband channels and data rates
New user interfaces and media
Currently, software-configurable wireless terminals are already required to accommodate multiple air
interfaces and frequency bands for cellular phones, PCs, paging devices, cordless phones, wireless LAN
systems, and modems. In addition, multiple voice, messaging, internet, and video services must also be
supported. These terminals must be flexible and upgradable so that they can be personalized for each user
(such as permitting the dynamic download of applets). Finally, these terminals must be able to process
baseband data using software to implement a range of functions previously carried out by hardware.
Target markets for the SC140 architecture include:
Wireless software configurable handset terminals (radios)
Third generation wireless handset systems with wideband data services
Wireless and wireline base stations as well as the corresponding infrastructure
Speech coding, synthesis, and voice recognition
Wideband (music) and synthetic waveform coding
Wireless internet and multimedia
Network and data communication