SC140 DSP Core Reference Manual 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
The StarCore SC140 digital signal processing (DSP) core, a new member of the SC100 architecture,
addresses key market needs of next-generation DSP applications. It is especially suited for wireline and
wireless communications, including infrastructure and subscriber communications. It 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.
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
•Wireless internet and multimedia
•Network and data communication