DSP market analysis.................................
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- If you see the word
"digital" labeled on a product, it is very likely that a digital signal
processing (DSP) chip is within it. Dedicated DSPs are continually being used
in new product applications, including those that were once reserved for
microprocessors. As costs for these chips come down, DSP penetration of
processor markets are continuing to grow rapidly.
Despite competition between microprocessors and the programmable gate
arrays, the market for DSPs is booming. According to recent strategic research
by Frost & Sullivan, the World Digital Signal Processor Market grew a
phenomenal 72.7 percent in this market in 1995, which raised revenues to
$1.73 billion. Increased penetration of embedded controller markets and
expansion of digital communications will continue to provide strong growth for
DSP chip sales.
A DSP is a chip that performs high-speed mathematical computations
transforming analog data into compressed digital data using complex
algorithms. This enables large amounts of data to be transferred between two
points in real time. Three of the most significant challenges currently facing
the DSP industry are: finding ways to integrate DSPs with other processors on
a single chip, increasing processing efficiency by developing finer processing
geometries, and facilitating easier programming and debugging.
The release of Texas Instruments' latest fixed-point chip, the
TMS320C6201, on February 3, 1997, is attracting significant attention to the
DSP industry. This new invention from one of the largest pioneers in the chip
industry uses several processing innovation to crunch 1,600 Mips, 13 times
faster than any fixed-point chip previously on the market, permitting a fast
fourier transform to be completed in 70 microseconds. As the significance of
this innovation impacts the market, recognition of DSP capabilities may become
more common-knowledge.
Frost & Sullivan's industry analyst said, "Companies like Texas
Instruments, Lucent Technologies and Analog Devices have dedicated themselves
to developing technologies for the digital revolution as primary business
strategies. It can be expected that a number of companies will seek to
integrate DSP cores, computational units or instruction sets in their devices
in the near future."
The huge growth in the dedicated DSP chip market helped boost the rush
among companies to license DSP core designs. East Asia and Japan have emerged
as the largest emerging market for core licensing, specifically to large
semiconductor companies. Introduction of the new processing cores can be
expected to heighten the development of the core licensing market.
The East Asian communication market has seen tremendous growth as digital
processing starts to penetrate that region. Conversion from analog processing
to digital processing may take longer in the Chinese and Southeast Asian
markets, but the market potential in these areas shows for significant
opportunities. In Europe, development of the GSM cellular standard has helped
facilitate the transition, providing a strong market for DSP-based products.
"Most handsets manufactured today are made to match the European standard,
which is now used more broadly internationally," observed a leading
Frost & Sullivan analyst in the Semiconductors group.
The wireless market continues to provide the largest opportunities in the
digital market. Cellular telephones, base stations, pagers, multimedia
devices, and mobile modems are all using DSP in their designs. Applications
for DSP chips range from videoconferencing and speech recognition to PCS and
HVAC motor control.
Companies participating in this market include: 3Soft Corporation,
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Analog Devices, Butterfly DSP, Inc., Chromatic
Research, Clarkspur Design, Cyrix Corporation, DSP Group, GEC Plessey
Semiconductor, Harris Semiconductor Corp., Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi
Semiconductor Corp., IBM Microelectronics, Intel Corp, Logic Devices, Inc.,
Lucent Technologies/Micoelectronics Group, MicroUnity Systems, Motorola, Inc.,
National Semiconductor Corporation, NEC Electronics, Inc., NVidia Corporation,
Philips Semiconductor, Inc., Raytheon Semiconductor, Samsung, SGS-Thomson
Microelectronics, Sun Microsystems, TCSI, Tensleep Design, Inc., Texas
Instruments, Zilog, Inc., Zoran, 3L Ltd, Accelerated Technology, Inc.,
Advanced Logical Design, Inc., Alacron, Inc., Alex Computer Systems, Inc.,
Atla Group/Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Amerinex Applied Imaging, Analogic
Corporation, Aox Incorporated, Applied Silicon Inc. Canada, Ariel Corporation,
Athena Group, Inc., Atlanta Signal Processors, Inc., Bittware Research
Systems, Inc., BNK Electronics, Inc., Bridgenorth Signal Processing, Inc.,
Cambridge Parallel Processing, Catalina Research, Inc., Cetia, Inc., Coreco,
Inc., CSPI, Data Translation, Difa Measuring Systems b.v., Digimetrie, DNA
Enterprises, Inc., Domain Technologies, Inc., DSP Development, DSP Research,
Inc., DSP Software Engineering, Inc., DSP Tools, DY 4 Systems, Inc., Dynetics,
Inc., Eonic Systems NV, General Imaging Corporation, GIGA Operations
Corporation, GO DSP Corporation, Harmonic Software, Inc., Heuristics, Inc.,
Hyperception, Inc., Impact Technologies, Inc., Intelligent Instrumentation,
Inc., Intelligent Systems International, ICS (Interactive Circuits & Systems),
Intermetrics Microsystems Software, Jandel Scientific Software, Lake DSP Pty
Ltd., Lewis Electronics Division, Loughborough Sound Images plc, Mentor
Graphics, Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., MicroWay, Inc., Momentum Data
Systems, MultiDSP, Inc., Multiprocessor Toolsmiths Inc., National Instruments,
Corp., OROS, Pemtech, Inc., Pentek, Inc., Precision Digital Images
Corporation, Precision Filters, Inc., Prosig USA, Inc., Sample Rate Systems
Oy, Sharp Electronics, Siemens Components Incorporated, Signal Technology,
Inc., Signalogic, Inc., Signix Corporation, SKY Computers, Inc., Softia, Inc.,
Sonitech International, Inc., Spectron Microsystems, Spectrum Digital, Inc.,
Spectrum Signal Processing, Inc., STAC Elektronische Systeme GmbH, Sunnyside
Systems Ltd., Systemforschung, Transtech Parallel Systems, Univision
Technologies, Inc., Valley Technologies, Inc., Visual Numerics, Inc., White
Mountain DSP, Inc., Wintriss Engineering Corporation, and Wolfram Research,
Inc.
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that
monitors the semiconductors industry for market trends, market measurements,
and strategies. This ongoing research is utilized to update a series of
research publications such as #5556-26 World Embedded Controller Market and to
support industry participants with customized consulting needs.
Visit Frost & Sullivan's web site at: frost.com.
Report: 5049-26 Publish Date: March 1997 Price: $2450 |
