Xilinx Spartan-3 devices enable high performance DSP functions at breakthrough low cost price points.

Representing a major milestone in the FPGA-based DSP space, Xilinx Inc. (Nasdaq:XLNX) recently announced revolutionary low cost price points for high performance DSP functions. DSP functions used in communications subsystems such a FEC 32-channel Viterbi decoder core can now be implemented in a Spartan-3 FPGA (XC3S1000) for an effective price of $0.14 per channel. Digital up and down conversion (DUC and DDC) running at 100 MSPS--common functions used to modify the received/transmitted frequencies in wireless base stations--can also be implemented for an effective price of $2.22 per channel.

The low cost Spartan-3 family--the first and only FPGA using a 90nm process--is the only FPGA in its class with dedicated DSP functionality. Combined with pre-verified IP cores for implementing complex DSP algorithms, the Spartan-3 family is driving down the cost of high performance DSP used in a wide range of digital video technology, digital consumer, computing and wireless systems.

"Given the Spartan-3 family's unrivalled cost structure and architecture tuned for DSP applications, designers now have a low-cost programmable logic option when implementing DSP functions," said David Squires, director of the DSP Center of Excellence at Xilinx. "Embedding DSP functions in a low cost FPGA at these price points opens up a whole new range of applications for programmable logic in the exploding markets for digital consumer and wireless applications."

Xilinx benchmarks also show that functions commonly used by DSP system designers such as a 1024 point FFT (with 20us transform time) can be implemented in a Spartan-3 device at an effective price of $2.72. A single channel, 64-tap FIR filter running at 8.1 MSPS can be implemented for an effective cost of $0.36. These are common DSP functions that are used in a wide range of applications such as plasma displays, medical imaging, base-stations and wireless infrastructure products.

Recognizing the prevalence of DSP functions in today's systems, Xilinx designed the Spartan-3 architecture with features that enable customers to implement DSP functions efficiently and cost effectively within the FPGA fabric--allowing higher integration and lower system costs.