Motorola Unveils the Newest Member of its DSP56300 Core Family, the High-Performance DSP56303; Streamlined Member of Motorola's DSP56300 24-Bit DSP Architecture Announced.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 1996--Motorola's (NYSE:MOT) Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Division, part of Motorola's Microcontroller Technologies Group, today announced availability of its DSP56303, the newest member of its recently introduced DSP56300 core family of three-volt, high-performance, programmable 24-bit digital signal processors.

Introduced in September 1995, the one-instruction-per-clock-cycle DSP56300 core architecture is the first in the industry to offer this level of performance and is setting the standard for performance in the DSP marketplace. The DSP56303, initially available at 66 million instructions per second (MIPS) at 66 Megahertz (MHz), with a roadmap to 80 MIPS at 80 Mhz, and 100 MIPS at 100 Mhz, offers users a high-performance, cost-competitive solution with its combination of powerful MIPS, small die size and low power consumption.

"The DSP56303 offers customers a superior level of three-volt performance at an attractive price -- opening the door for many new applications for signal processing technology," said Keith Essency, operations manager for 24- and 32-bit DSP operations of Motorola's DSP Division. "The DSP56303 is ideal for cost-sensitive applications requiring low power and cutting-edge performance."

Target Applications and Customers

The DSP56303 is optimized for high-performance, high-volume applications in wireless, telecommunications and multimedia. Over the past year Motorola's DSP56303 has secured designs with leading customers in applications such as cellular infrastructure and voicemail systems.

DSP56300 Core Architecture

The DSP56303, as all DSP56300 family members, is based on a high-performance DSP core engine providing single-clock-cycle instruction execution, a rich instruction set and low power consumption at 3.0-3.6 volts. The DSP56300 modular design methodology allows rapid design and optimization for specific market and customer needs. The DSP56303 is based on the DSP56300 core and is supplemented with standard memory and peripheral modules from a growing Motorola DSP library.

DSP56303 Features

The DSP56303 is identical to its predecessor, the DSP56301, except that the DSP56303 includes an 8-bit host interface instead of the larger and wider PCI bus included on the DSP56301. While the DSP56301 with PCI functionality is ideal for PC-based and multiprocessor applications with its 32-bit host port, the DSP56303 provides a cost-effective solution for applications not requiring the PCI bus. These applications include stand-alone embedded applications, such as cellular infrastructure, industrial control, telecommunications and audio/video processing.

The DSP56303 contains a total of 4K words of program memory (PRAM), which can be reconfigured to provide 3K words of PRAM and 1K word of instruction cache. When using external program memory, the instruction cache can improve system performance or reduce memory speed and cost requirements. In addition, there are 4K words of data memory, which are split into 2K words of X memory and 2K words of Y memory. The DSP56303 also contains an expansion bus which provides a glueless interface to DRAMs, SRAMs, synchronous SRAMs (SSRAMs), ROMs and peripherals.

The DSP56303 also offers two enhanced synchronous serial interfaces (ESSIs), which provide high-speed serial links to analog converters and can support different data rates. A serial communications interface (SCI) and three 24-bit timers are also provided.

DSP56303 Development Tools

A low-cost DSP56303EVM hardware development system will provide a real-time development and debugging environment. Available for PC host platform, the DSP56303EVM will be a complete development environment and will be available this summer for less than $200. Similar to Motorola's popular DSP56002EVM, the DSP56303EVM includes Domain Technologies' debugger and Motorola's assembler and linker.

A cross-linker assembler and simulator (CLAS) software development package is available for PC, Sun and Hewlett-Packard platforms. This package includes a new Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI), providing a more powerful development environment. This tool is available for $300. A `C'-compiler is also available from Motorola for $350.

Motorola's Fast Static Random Access Memory (RAM) Division will also offer compatible 3.3-volt static RAM products in a x24-bit architecture. The first product will be a 64K x 24-bit RAM, available in the fourth quarter of 1996.

Third-Party Development Tools

The DSP56303 is also being supported by many third-party developers, including Domain Technologies, Inc. (Plano, TX), Sonitech International (Wellesley, MA) and Spectron Microsystems (Santa Barbara, CA).

Domain Technologies is providing an emulator for the DSP56300 core family, providing users with the tools necessary to develop, debug and test DSP563xx hardware and software. Sonitech, a development tool and board supplier company, is offering an extensive set of high-quality development tools and development boards for Sun and PC environments, allowing users to debug hardware and/or software embedded in a user's target system. Spectron has ported its SPOX DSP operating system and development environment to the DSP56300 core family, giving users real-time multitasking, interrupt, memory management and I/O facilities necessary for quick time-to-market.

Pricing and Availability

The initial 66 MHz DSP56303 is now available for sampling with production volumes available in the second quarter in 144-pin TQFP packages. Volume pricing in the U.S. is $29 for 100K units. The 80 MHz DSP56303 will be available for sampling in the second quarter with production volumes in the third quarter of this year.

With 1995 worldwide sales of $8.5 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is the largest U.S.-based broad-line supplier of semiconductor solutions. Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors and advanced electronic systems, components and services.

Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics and computers. Motorola semiconductors power communication devices, computers and millions of other products. Motorola's sales were $27 billion. -0-

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