Siemens Semiconductors Enters High-Performance DSP Market with New CARMEL Programmable DSP Core
Posted by Moonray on the Other Stuff thread
New Licensable DSP Core Targets Advanced Applications in the Consumer and Communications Industries
MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 1998-- Siemens Semiconductors today launched its entry into the high-end digital signal processing (DSP) market, unveiling the new CARMEL(TM) programmable DSP core.
Drawing on two decades of expertise in DSP technology, Siemens developed the CARMEL architecture to target advanced consumer and communications applications, such as cellular phones, high-speed modems and multimedia products.
Siemens' fully licensable CARMEL architecture is based on a flexible instruction set to allocate DSP power where it is needed for a specific application. CARMEL is the first DSP core to incorporate an enhanced Customized Long Instruction Word(TM) (CLIW(TM)) capability together with a modular, superscalar architecture to minimize the cost/performance tradeoff between superscalar and Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architectures that other high-end DSPs must typically make. By combining a standard instruction set with a user-programmable, customized instruction set, CARMEL provides added flexibility and performance on the software side without requiring additional hardware accelerators.
According to Will Strauss, president of U.S.-based electronics market research firm Forward Concepts, CARMEL's unique architecture makes it a ''truly significant DSP chip. It marks the first time a multibillion-dollar company has come out with a merchant-market offering of a programmable, pure-DSP core -- especially one of this caliber. We believe it will hit a 'sweet spot' in the market, providing capabilities that people need for emerging wireless applications, while also fitting in well with Siemens' own, captive uses,'' said Strauss.
According to Strauss' projections, the worldwide DSP market will grow from US$8 billion in 1997 to US$10.5 billion in 1998, reaching US$33.7 billion by 2002. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33 percent. Strauss' figures further indicate that the programmable segment alone will grow nearly 30 percent in 1998 to US$4.2 billion from US$3.2 billion in 1997. By 2002, he expects this segment to reach nearly $15 billion -- a CAGR of 36 percent. ''To fully appreciate how fast the DSP market is growing,'' noted Strauss, ''compare it to the overall IC market, which we see growing by less than 10 percent this year with a 15-percent CAGR over the next five years. Clearly, companies such as Siemens that are able to develop and market unique products will be in the best position to capitalize on the rapid growth in DSP programmables.''
Key CARMEL Specifics
The CARMEL architecture was developed to complement Siemens' existing line of DSP cores, targeting applications that require a high-performance, programmable DSP solution. In particular, wireless systems will require ever-greater processing power as the market moves toward widespread adoption of the GSM and CDMA standards for mobile communications and xDSL for fast network data transfer.
The core is designed to support these fast-growing applications by providing a strong combination of power efficiency (i.e., low power requirements) and optimal performance. CARMEL does 120 M MIPS (Multiple Millions of Instructions per Second) at 120MHz and 2.5V and can perform up to 15 elementary operations in parallel multiplied by 120 millions of instructions per second. That means that in specific applications, it will be able to do 15 x 120 MIPS = 1800 MOPS (Mega Operations Per Second) performing a particular task. The 16-bit, fixed-point CARMEL core features a very low-power design (1V capability); a double arithmetic logic unit (ALU); a double multiply-accumulate (MAC) module; a multiple-bus architecture for high memory bandwidth; single-cycle simultaneous read-write access to data memories; and up to 48 general-purpose addressing registers.
''We believe our new CARMEL core offers the best price/performance value in the industry, with its next-generation DSP architecture,'' said Dr. Soenke Mehrgardt, president of the Signal Processing Division within Siemens AG [OTC BB:SMAWY - news]. ''In addition, CARMEL expands Siemens' roadmap for processor cores. It is the central part of our logic initiative aimed at creating highly complex systems on a chip.''
To capitalize on the core's capabilities and obtain a broad base of support in the market, Siemens has established a CARMEL licensing program. Through this program, Siemens will work with customers and licensee partners to create application-specific IC solutions based on the CARMEL DSP core. Partners will comprise semiconductor manufacturers, as well as system houses.
CARMEL Availability
Siemens expects to produce the first evaluation chip based on the CARMEL architecture by the end of the third quarter of calendar 1998. The company will announce the first licensee of the new core shortly.
About Siemens
Siemens AG is one of the world's largest electrical engineering and electronics companies and one of the richest in tradition. Sales for fiscal 1996/97, the company's 150th year, totaled US$63.7 billion (DM 107 billion). Focused on eight core business segments -- energy, industry, communications, information, transportation, health care, components and lighting -- Siemens has a uniquely wide scope of operations. With some 386,000 employees, Siemens is represented in almost every country in the world. Its production facilities in 51 countries underline Siemens' role as an innovative global player.
Siemens' Semiconductor Group is a leading worldwide provider of integrated circuits, memory products, RF components and discrete, power and opto semiconductors. The comprehensive product line of Siemens Semiconductors serves a wide range of customers active in telecommunications, automation, data processing, automotive and consumer electronics. Siemens is the market leader for Chipcard ICs. In fiscal 1996/97, the Semiconductor Group achieved sales of US$3.5 billion (DM 5.9 billion) and employed 22,600 people worldwide. siemens.de |
