Digital Signal Processor (DSP) Architecture

Classification of Processor Applications

Requirements of Embedded Processors
DSP vs. General Purpose CPUs

DSP Cores vs. Chips

Classification of DSP Applications

DSP Algorithm Format
DSP Benchmarks
Basic Architectural Features of DSPs
DSP Software Development Considerations
Classification of Current DSP Architectures and example DSPs :
Conventional DSPs : TI TMSC54xx
Enhanced Conventional DSPs : TI TMSC55xx
VLIW DSPs: TI TMS320C62xx, TMS320C64xx
Superscalar DSPs: LSI Logic ZSP400 DSP core
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Increasing
volume

General Purpose Processors (GPPs) - high performance.

Alphas, SPARC, MIPS ...
Used for general purpose software
Heavy weight OS - UNIX, Windows
Workstations, PCs, Clusters
Embedded processors and processor cores
ARM, 486SX, Hitachi SH7000, NEC V800...
Often require Digital signal processing (DSP) support.
Single program
Lightweight, often realtime OS
Cellular phones, consumer electronics .. (e.g. CD players)
Microcontrollers
Extremely cost sensitive
Small word size - 8 bit common
Highest volume processors by far
Control systems, Automobiles, toasters, thermostats, ...

Increasing
Cost

Processor Applications

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$30B
32-bit
micro
$1.2B/4%

Processor Markets
$5.2B/17%

32 bit DSP
DSP

$10B/33%

16-bit
micro

$5.7B/19%

8-bit
micro

$9.3B/31%

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Performance

The Processor Design Space

Application specific
architectures
for performance
Embedded
processors

Microprocessors
Performance is
everything
& Software rules

Microcontrollers
Cost is everything
Cost
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Requirements of Embedded Processors

Optimized for a single program - code often in on-chip ROM
or off chip EPROM
Minimum code size (one of the motivations initially for Java)
Performance obtained by optimizing datapath
Low cost
Lowest possible area
Technology behind the leading edge
High level of integration of peripherals (reduces system cost)

Fast time to market

Compatible architectures (e.g. ARM) allows reusable code
Customizable cores (System-on-Chip, SoC).

Low power if application requires portability

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Area of processor cores = Cost

Nintendo processor

Cellular phones
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Another figure of merit: Computation per unit area

Nintendo processor

Cellular phones
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Code size

If a majority of the chip is the program stored in ROM,

then code size is a critical issue
The Piranha has 3 sized instructions - basic 2 byte, and
2 byte plus 16 or 32 bit immediate
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Embedded Systems vs. General Purpose

Computing
Embedded System
Runs a few applications
often known at design time
Not end-user programmable
Operates in fixed run-time
constraints that must be
met, additional performance
may not be useful/valuable
Differentiating features:
Application-specific
capability (e.g DSP).
power
cost
speed (must be predictable)

General purpose computing

Intended to run a fully
general set of applications
End-user programmable
Faster is always better
Differentiating features
speed (need not be fully
predictable)
cost (largest component
power)

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Evolution of GPPs and DSPs

General Purpose Processors (GPPs) trace roots back to Eckert,
Mauchly, Von Neumann (ENIAC)
DSP processors are microprocessors designed for efficient
mathematical manipulation of digital signals.
DSP evolved from Analog Signal Processors (ASPs), using analog
hardware to transform physical signals (classical electrical
engineering)
ASP to DSP because
DSP insensitive to environment (e.g., same response in snow or desert
if it works at all)
DSP performance identical even with variations in components; 2
analog systems behavior varies even if built with same components
with 1% variation

Different history and different applications led to different terms,

different metrics, some new inventions.

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DSP vs. General Purpose CPUs

DSPs tend to run one program, not many programs.
Hence OSes are much simpler, there is no virtual memory
or protection, ...

DSPs usually run applications with hard real-time

constraints:
You must account for anything that could happen in a time
slot
All possible interrupts or exceptions must be accounted for
and their collective time be subtracted from the time
interval.
Therefore, exceptions are BAD.

DSPs usually process infinite continuous data streams.

The design of DSP architectures and ISAs driven by the
requirements of DSP algorithms.
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DSP vs. GPP

The MIPS/MFLOPS of DSPs is speed of Multiply-Accumulate
(MAC).
MAC is common in DSP algorithms that involve computing a vector dot
product, such as digital filters, correlation, and Fourier transforms.
DSP are judged by whether they can keep the multipliers busy 100% of the
time and by how many MACs are performed in each cycle.

The "SPEC" of DSPs is 4 algorithms:

Inifinite Impule Response (IIR) filters

Finite Impule Response (FIR) filters
FFT, and
convolvers

In DSPs, target algorithms are important:

Binary compatibility not a mojor issue

High-level Software is not (yet) very important in DSPs.

People still write in assembly language for a product to minimize
the die area for ROM in the DSP chip.

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TYPES OF DSP PROCESSORS

32-BIT FLOATING POINT (5% of market):

TI TMS320C3X, TMS320C67xx
AT&T DSP32C
ANALOG DEVICES ADSP21xxx
Hitachi SH-4

16-BIT FIXED POINT (95% of market):

TI TMS320C2X, TMS320C62xx
Infineon TC1xxx (TriCore1)
MOTOROLA DSP568xx, MSC810x
ANALOG DEVICES ADSP21xx
Agere Systems DSP16xxx, Starpro2000
LSI Logic LSI140x (ZPS400)
Hitachi SH3-DSP

StarCore SC110, SC140

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DSP Cores vs. Chips

DSP are usually available as synthesizable cores or off-theshelf chips
Synthesizable Cores:
Map into chosen fabrication process
Speed, power, and size vary

Choice of peripherals, etc. (SoC)

Requires extensive hardware development effort.

Off-the-shelf chips:
Highly optimized for speed, energy efficiency, and/or cost.
Limited performance, integration options.
Tools, 3rd-party support often more mature
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DSP ARCHITECTURE
Enabling Technologies
Time Frame

Approach

Primary Application

Enabling Technologies

Bipolar SSI, MSI

FFT algorithm

Single chip bipolar multiplier

Flash A/D

Early 1970s

Discrete logic

Late 1970s

Building block

Non-real time
procesing
Simulation
Military radars
Digital Comm.

Early 1980s

Single Chip DSP P

Telecom
Control

P architectures
NMOS/CMOS

Late 1980s

Function/Application
specific chips

Computers
Communication

Vector processing
Parallel processing

Early 1990s

Multiprocessing

Video/Image Processing

Late 1990s

Single-chip
multiprocessing

Wireless telephony
Internet related

Advanced multiprocessing
VLIW, MIMD, etc.
Low power single-chip DSP
Multiprocessing

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Texas Instruments TMS320 Family

Multiple DSP P Generations
First
Sample

Bit Size

Clock
speed
(MHz)

Instruction
Throughput

MAC
execution
(ns)

MOPS

Device density (#
of transistors)

Uniprocessor
Based
(Harvard
Architecture)

TMS32010

1982

16 integer

20

5 MIPS

400

58,000 (3)

TMS320C25

1985

16 integer

40

10 MIPS

100

20

160,000 (2)

TMS320C30

1988

32 flt.pt.

33

17 MIPS

60

33

695,000 (1)

TMS320C50

1991

16 integer

57

29 MIPS

35

60

1,000,000 (0.5)

TMS320C2XXX

1995

16 integer

40 MIPS

25

80

Multiprocessor
Based
TMS320C80

1996

32 integer/flt.

MIMD

TMS320C62XX

1997

16 integer

2 GOPS
120 MFLOP
20 GOPS

TMS310C67XX

1997

32 flt. pt.

1 GFLOP

VLIW

1600 MIPS

VLIW

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DSP Applications

Digital audio applications

MPEG Audio
Portable audio
Digital cameras
Cellular telephones
Wearable medical appliances
Storage products:
disk drive servo control
Military applications:
radar
sonar

Industrial control
Seismic exploration
Networking:
Wireless
Base station
Cable modems
ADSL
VDSL

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DSP Applications
DSP Algorithm
Speech Coding
Speech Encryption
Speech Recognition
Speech Synthesis
Speaker Identification
High-fidelity Audio
Modems
Noise cancellation
Audio Equalization
Ambient Acoustics Emulation
Audio Mixing/Editing
Sound Synthesis
Vision
Image Compression
Image Compositing
Beamforming
Echo cancellation
Spectral Estimation

System Application
Digital cellular telephones, personal communications systems, digital cordless telephones,
multimedia computers, secure communications.
Digital cellular telephones, personal communications systems, digital cordless telephones,
secure communications.
Advanced user interfaces, multimedia workstations, robotics, automotive applications,
cellular telephones, personal communications systems.
Advanced user interfaces, robotics
Security, multimedia workstations, advanced user interfaces
Consumer audio, consumer video, digital audio broadcast, professional audio, multimedia
computers
Digital cellular telephones, personal communications systems, digital cordless telephones,
digital audio broadcast, digital signaling on cable TV, multimedia computers, wireless
computing, navigation, data/fax
Professional audio, advanced vehicular audio, industrial applications
Consumer audio, professional audio, advanced vehicular audio, music
Consumer audio, professional audio, advanced vehicular audio, music
Professional audio, music, multimedia computers
Professional audio, music, multimedia computers, advanced user interfaces
Security, multimedia computers, advanced user interfaces, instrumentation, robotics,
navigation
Digital photography, digital video, multimedia computers, videoconferencing
Multimedia computers, consumer video, advanced user interfaces, navigation
Navigation, medical imaging, radar/sonar, signals intelligence
Speakerphones, hands-free cellular telephones
Signals intelligence, radar/sonar, professional audio, music

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Increasing
volume

High-end
Military applications
Wireless Base Station - TMS320C6000
Cable modem
gateways
Mid-end
Industrial control
Cellular phone - TMS320C540
Fax/ voice server
Low end
Storage products - TMS320C27
Digital camera - TMS320C5000
Portable phones
Wireless headsets
Consumer audio
Automobiles, toasters, thermostats, ...

Increasing
Cost

Another Look at DSP Applications

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DSP range of applications

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CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM

123
456
789
0

PHYSICAL
LAYER
PROCESSING

A/D

415-555-1212

CONTROLLER

SPEECH
ENCODE

BASEBAND
CONVERTER

SPEECH
DECODE

RF
MODEM

DAC

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HW/SW/IC PARTITIONING
MICROCONTROLLER

123
456
789
0
ASIC

A/D

415-555-1212

CONTROLLER

PHYSICAL
LAYER
PROCESSING

SPEECH
ENCODE

BASEBAND
CONVERTER

SPEECH
DECODE

RF
MODEM

DAC

DSP
ANALOG IC

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Mapping Onto System-on-Chip (SoC)

S/P

RAM
RAM

book

intfc

DMA

ASIC
LOGIC

keypad

control protocol

DMA
S/P

phone

DSP
CORE

speech

voice

quality

recognition

enhancment
de-intl &

RPE-LTP

decoder

speech decoder

demodulator
and
synchronizer

Viterbi
equalizer

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Example Wireless Phone Organization

C540

ARM7

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Multimedia I/O Architecture

Radio
Modem

Embedded
Processor

Sched ECC Pact

Interface
Low Power Bus

FB

Fifo

Video
Decomp

Pen

SRAM

Data
Flow

Fifo

Graphics

Audio

Video
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Multimedia System-on-Chip (SoC)

E.g. Multimedia terminal electronics
Graphics Out
Uplink Radio

Video I/O

Downlink Radio

Voice I/O
Pen In

Video Unit

Memory

Coms

Future chips will be a mix of

processors, memory and
dedicated hardware for
specific algorithms and I/O

custom
DSP

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DSP Algorithm Format

DSP culture has a graphical format to represent
formulas.
Like a flowchart for formulas, inner loops,
not programs.
Some seem natural:
is add, X is multiply
Others are obtuse:
z1 means take variable from earlier iteration.
These graphs are trivial to decode
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DSP Algorithm Notation

Uses flowchart notation instead of equations
Multiply is
or
X
Add is

or

Delay/Storage is or

or

Delay

z1

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Typical DSP Algorithm:

Finite-Impulse Response (FIR) Filter

Filters reduce signal noise and enhance image or signal
quality by removing unwanted frequencies.
Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters compute:
N 1

y(i) = h(k ) x(i k ) = h(n) * x(n)

where

k =0

x is the input sequence

y is the output sequence
h is the impulse response (filter coefficients)
N is the number of taps (coefficients) in the filter

Output sequence depends only on input sequence and

impulse response.
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Typical DSP Algorithm:

Finite-impulse Response (FIR) Filter

N most recent samples in the delay line (Xi)

New sample moves data down delay line
Tap is a multiply-add
Each tap (N taps total) nominally requires:

Two data fetches

Multiply
Accumulate
Memory write-back to update delay line

Goal: at least 1 FIR Tap / DSP instruction cycle

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FINITE-IMPULSE RESPONSE (FIR) FILTER

X

h0

h1

....

h N -1

h N -2

A Tap

N 1

y(i) = h(k ) x(i k )

k =0

Goal: at least 1 FIR Tap / DSP instruction cycle

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Sample Computational Rates

for FIR Filtering
Signal type

Frequency # taps

Performance

Speech

8 kHz

N =128

20 MOPs

Music

48 kHz

N =256

24 MOPs

Video phone 6.75 MHz

N*N = 81 1,090 MOPs

TV

27 MHz

N*N = 81 4,370 MOPs

HDTV

144 MHz

N*N = 81 23,300 MOPs

1-D FIR has nop = 2N and a 2-D FIR has nop = 2N2.

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FIR filter on (simple)

General Purpose Processor
loop:
lw x0, 0(r0)
lw y0, 0(r1)
mul a, x0,y0
add y0,a,b
sw y0,(r2)
inc r0
inc r1
inc r2
dec ctr
tst ctr
jnz loop
Problems: Bus / memory bandwidth bottleneck, control code
overhead

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Typical DSP Algorithm:

Infinite-Impulse Response (IIR) Filter

Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filters compute:

y(i) =

M 1

N 1

k =1

k =0

a(k ) y(i k) + b(k )x(i k)

Output sequence depends on input sequence, previous

outputs, and impulse response.
Both FIR and IIR filters
Require dot product (multiply-accumulate) operations
Use fixed coefficients

Adaptive filters update their coefficients to minimize

the distance between the filter output and the desired
signal.
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Typical DSP Algorithm:

Discrete Fourier Transform

The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) allows for
spectral analysis in the frequency domain.
It is computed as
N 1

y(k) = WN nk x(n)
n=0

WN

2 j
=e N

j = 1

for k = 0, 1, , N-1, where

x is the input sequence in the time domain
y is an output sequence in the frequency domain

The Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform is

N 1
computed as
nk
x(n) = WN

y(k), for n = 0,1, ..., n - 1

k =0

The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) provides an

efficient method for computing the DFT.
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Typical DSP Algorithm:

Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT)

The Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is frequently
used in video compression (e.g., MPEG-2).
The DCT and Inverse DCT (IDCT) are computed as:
(2n +1)k
y(k) = e(k) cos[
]x(n), for k = 0,1,... N - 1
2N
n=0
2 N 1
(2n + 1)k
x(n) = e(k) cos[
] y(n), for k = 0,1,... N - 1
N k =0
2N
N 1

where e(k) = 1/sqrt(2) if k = 0; otherwise e(k) = 1.

A N-Point, 1D-DCT requires N2 MAC operations.
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DSP BENCHMARKS
DSPstone: University of Aachen, application benchmarks

ADPCM TRANSCODER - CCITT G.721, REAL_UPDATE, COMPLEX_UPDATES

DOT_PRODUCT, MATRIX_1X3, CONVOLUTION
FIR, FIR2DIM, HR_ONE_BIQUAD
LMS, FFT_INPUT_SCALED

BDTImark2000: Berkeley Design Technology Inc

12 DSP kernels in hand-optimized assembly language
Returns single number (higher means faster) per processor
Use only on-chip memory (memory bandwidth is the major bottleneck in
performance of embedded applications).

EEMBC (pronounced embassy): EDN Embedded

Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium
30 companies formed by Electronic Data News (EDN)
Benchmark evaluates compiled C code on a variety of embedded processors
(microcontrollers, DSPs, etc.)
Application domains: automotive-industrial, consumer, office automation,
networking and telecommunications

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EECC722 - Shaaban
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Basic Architectural Features of DSPs

Data path configured for DSP

Fixed-point arithmetic
MAC- Multiply-accumulate
Multiple memory banks and buses Harvard Architecture
Multiple data memories
Specialized addressing modes
Bit-reversed addressing
Circular buffers
Specialized instruction set and execution control
Zero-overhead loops
Support for fast MAC
Fast Interrupt Handling
Specialized peripherals for DSP

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DSP Data Path: Arithmetic

DSPs dealing with numbers representing real world
=> Want reals/ fractions
DSPs dealing with numbers for addresses
=> Want integers
Support fixed point as well as integers

-1 x < 1

radix
point

.
radix

2N1 x < 2N1

point

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DSP Data Path: Precision

Word size affects precision of fixed point numbers
DSPs have 16-bit, 20-bit, or 24-bit data words
Floating Point DSPs cost 2X - 4X vs. fixed point, slower
than fixed point
DSP programmers will scale values inside code
SW Libraries
Separate explicit exponent

Blocked Floating Point single exponent for a group of

fractions
Floating point support simplify development
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DSP Data Path: Overflow

DSP are descended from analog :
Modulo Arithmetic.

Set to most positive (2N11) or

most negative value(2N1) : saturation
Many DSP algorithms were developed in this
model.

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DSP Data Path: Multiplier

Specialized hardware performs all key arithmetic
operations in 1 cycle
50% of instructions can involve multiplier
=> single cycle latency multiplier
Need to perform multiply-accumulate (MAC)
n-bit multiplier => 2n-bit product

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DSP Data Path: Accumulator

Dont want overflow or have to scale accumulator
Option 1: accumalator wider than product:
guard bits
Motorola DSP:
24b x 24b => 48b product, 56b Accumulator

Option 2: shift right and round product before adder

Multiplier
Multiplier
Shift
ALU
Accumulator G

ALU
Accumulator

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DSP Data Path: Rounding

Even with guard bits, will need to round when store
accumulator into memory
3 DSP standard options
Truncation: chop results
=> biases results up
Round to nearest:
< 1/2 round down, 1/2 round up (more positive)
=> smaller bias
Convergent:
< 1/2 round down, > 1/2 round up (more positive), =
1/2 round to make lsb a zero (+1 if 1, +0 if 0)
=> no bias
IEEE 754 calls this round to nearest even
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Data Path Comparison

DSP Processor
Specialized hardware
performs all key arithmetic
operations in 1 cycle.
Hardware support for
managing numeric fidelity:
Shifters
Guard bits
Saturation

General-Purpose Processor
Multiplies often take>1
cycle
Shifts often take >1 cycle
Other operations (e.g.,
saturation, rounding)
typically take multiple
cycles.

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TI 320C54x DSP (1995) Functional Block Diagram

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First Commercial DSP (1982): Texas

Instruments TMS32010

Instruction
Memory

16-bit fixed-point arithmetic

Introduced at 5Mhz (200ns)
instruction cycle.
Harvard architecture
separate instruction,
data memories

Processor
Data
Memory
Datapath:
Mem

T-Register

Accumulator
Specialized instruction set
Load and Accumulate

Two-cycle (400 ns) MultiplyAccumulate (MAC) time.

Multiplier
ALU

P-Register

Accumulator

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First Generation DSP P

Texas Instruments TMS32010 - 1982

Features

200 ns instruction cycle (5 MIPS)

144 words (16 bit) on-chip data RAM
1.5K words (16 bit) on-chip program ROM - TMS32010
External program memory expansion to a total of 4K words at full speed
16-bit instruction/data word
single cycle 32-bit ALU/accumulator
Single cycle 16 x 16-bit multiply in 200 ns
Two cycle MAC (5 MOPS)
Zero to 15-bit barrel shifter
Eight input and eight output channels

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TMS32010 BLOCK DIAGRAM

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TMS32010 FIR Filter Code

Here X4, H4, ... are direct (absolute) memory addresses:
LT X4
; Load T with x(n-4)
MPY H4 ; P = H4*X4
LTD X3 ; Load T with x(n-3); x(n-4) = x(n-3);
; Acc = Acc + P
MPY H3 ; P = H3*X3
LTD X2
MPY H2
...
Two instructions per tap, but requires unrolling
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Micro-architectural impact - MAC

N1

y(n) = h(m)x(n m)
0

element of finite-impulse
response filter computation
X

MPY

ADD/SUB

ACC REG

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Mapping of the filter onto a DSP execution unit

Xn X
2

n-1

Yn

The critical hardware unit in a DSP is the multiplier - much of

the architecture is organized around allowing use of the
multiplier on every cycle
This means providing two operands on every cycle, through
multiple data and address busses, multiple address units and
local accumulator feedback

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MAC Eg. - 320C54x DSP Functional Block Diagram

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DSP Memory
FIR Tap implies multiple memory accesses
DSPs require multiple data ports
Some DSPs have ad hoc techniques to reduce memory
bandwdith demand:
Instruction repeat buffer: do 1 instruction 256 times
Often disables interrupts, thereby increasing interrupt
response time

Some recent DSPs have instruction caches

Even then may allow programmer to lock in
instructions into cache
Option to turn cache into fast program memory

No DSPs have data caches.

May have multiple data memories
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Conventional ``Von Neumann memory

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HARVARD MEMORY ARCHITECTURE in DSP

PROGRAM
MEMORY

X MEMORY

Y MEMORY

GLOBAL
P DATA
X DATA
Y DATA

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Memory Architecture Comparison

DSP Processor
Harvard architecture
2-4 memory accesses/cycle
No caches-on-chip SRAM

General-Purpose Processor
Von Neumann architecture
Typically 1 access/cycle
Use caches

Program
Memory
Processor

Processor

Memory

Data
Memory

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Eg. TMS320C3x MEMORY BLOCK DIAGRAM - Harvard Architecture

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Eg. TI 320C62x/67x DSP (1997)

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DSP Addressing
Have standard addressing modes: immediate,
displacement, register indirect
Want to keep MAC datapath busy
Assumption: any extra instructions imply clock cycles
of overhead in inner loop
=> complex addressing is good
=> dont use datapath to calculate fancy address
Autoincrement/Autodecrement register indirect
lw r1,0(r2)+ => r1 <- M[r2]; r2<-r2+1
Option to do it before addressing, positive or negative

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DSP Addressing: FFT

FFTs start or end with data in bufferfly order
0 (000)
=>
0 (000)
1 (001)
=>
4 (100)
2 (010)
=>
2 (010)
3 (011)
=>
6 (110)
4 (100)
=>
1 (001)
5 (101)
=>
5 (101)
6 (110)
=>
3 (011)
7 (111)
=>
7 (111)
What can do to avoid overhead of address checking instructions for
FFT?
Have an optional bit reverse address addressing mode for use with
autoincrement addressing
Many DSPs have bit reverse addressing for radix-2 FFT

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BIT REVERSED ADDRESSING

000

x(0)

F(0)

100

x(4)

F(1)

010

x(2)

F(2)

110

x(6)

F(3)

001

x(1)

F(4)

101

x(5)

F(5)

011

x(3)

F(6)

111

x(7)

F(7)
Four 2-point
DFTs

Two 4-point
DFTs

One 8-point DFT

Data flow in the radix-2 decimation-in-time FFT algorithm

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DSP Addressing: Buffers

DSPs dealing with continuous I/O
Often interact with an I/O buffer (delay lines)
To save memory, buffers often organized as circular
buffers
What can do to avoid overhead of address checking
instructions for circular buffer?
Option 1: Keep start register and end register per
address register for use with autoincrement
addressing, reset to start when reach end of buffer
Option 2: Keep a buffer length register, assuming
buffers starts on aligned address, reset to start when
reach end
Every DSP has modulo or circular addressing
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CIRCULAR BUFFERS
Instructions accomodate three
elements:
buffer address
buffer size
increment
Allows for cycling through:
delay elements
coefficients in data memory

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Addressing Comparison
DSP Processor
Dedicated address
generation units
Specialized addressing
modes; e.g.:
Autoincrement
Modulo (circular)
Bit-reversed (for FFT)
Good immediate data
support

General-Purpose Processor
Often, no separate address
generation unit
General-purpose addressing
modes

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Address calculation unit for DSPs

Supports modulo and bit
reversal arithmetic
Often duplicated to
calculate multiple
addresses per cycle

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DSP Instructions and Execution

May specify multiple operations in a single instruction

Must support Multiply-Accumulate (MAC)
Need parallel move support
Usually have special loop support to reduce branch
overhead
Loop an instruction or sequence
0 value in register usually means loop maximum number of
times
Must be sure if calculate loop count that 0 does not mean 0

May have saturating shift left arithmetic

May have conditional execution to reduce branches
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ADSP 2100: ZERO-OVERHEAD LOOP

DO <addr> UNTIL condition

DO X ...

Address Generation
PCS = PC + 1
if (PC = x && ! condition)
PC = PCS
else
PC = PC +1

Eliminates a few instructions in loops Important in loops with small bodies

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Instruction Set Comparison

DSP Processor
Specialized, complex
instructions
Multiple operations per
instruction
mac x0,y0,a

x: (r0) + ,x0 y: (r4) + ,y0

General-Purpose Processor
General-purpose
instructions
Typically only one operation
per instruction
mov *r0,x0
mov *r1,y0
mpy x0, y0, a
add a, b
mov y0, *r2
inc r0
inc rl

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Specialized Peripherals for DSPs

DSP
Core

A/D Converter
D/A Converter

Instruction
Memory

Data
Memory

Serial Ports

Synchronous serial
ports
Parallel ports
Timers
On-chip A/D, D/A
converters

Host ports
Bit I/O ports
On-chip DMA
controller
Clock generators

On-chip peripherals often designed for

background operation, even when core is
powered down.

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Specialized DSP peripherals

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TI TMS320C203/LC203 BLOCK DIAGRAM

DSP Core Approach - 1995

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Summary of Architectural Features of DSPs

Data path configured for DSP

Fixed-point arithmetic
MAC- Multiply-accumulate
Multiple memory banks and buses Harvard Architecture
Multiple data memories
Specialized addressing modes
Bit-reversed addressing
Circular buffers
Specialized instruction set and execution control
Zero-overhead loops
Support for MAC
Specialized peripherals for DSP
THE ULTIMATE IN BENCHMARK DRIVEN ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN.

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DSP Software Development Considerations

Different from general-purpose software development:

Resource-hungry, complex algorithms.

Specialized and/or complex processor architectures.
Severe cost/storage limitations.
Hard real-time constraints.
Optimization is essential.
Increased testing challenges.

Essential tools:

Assembler, linker.
Instruction set simulator.
HLL Code generation: C compiler.
Debugging and profiling tools.
Increasingly important:
Software libraries.
Real-time operating systems.

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Classification of Current DSP Architectures

Modern Conventional DSPs:
Similar to the original DSPs of the early 1980s
Single instruction/cycle. Example: TI TMS320C54x

Enhanced Conventional DSPs:

Add parallel execution units: SIMD operation
Complex, compound instructions. Example: TI TMS320C55x

Multiple-Issue DSPs:
VLIW Example: TI TMS320C62xx, TMS320C64xx
Superscalar, Example: LSI Logic ZPS400

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A Conventional DSP:
TI TMSC54xx

16-bit fixed-point DSP.

Issues one 16-bit instruction/cycle
Modified Harvard memory architecture
Peripherals typical of conventional DSPs:
2-3 synch. Serial ports, parallel port
Bit I/O, Timer, DMA

Inexpensive (100 MHz ~$5 qty 10K).

Low power (60 mW @ 1.8V, 100 MHz).

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A Current Conventional DSP:

TI TMSC54xx

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An Enhanced Conventional DSP:

TI TMSC55xx
The TMS320C55xx is based on Texas Instruments' earlier
TMS320C54xx family, but adds significant enhancements to
the architecture and instruction set, including:
Two instructions/cycle
Instructions are scheduled for parallel execution by the assembly
programmer or compiler.

Two MAC units.

Complex, compound instructions:
Assembly source code compatible with C54xx
Mixed-width instructions: 8 to 48 bits.
200 MHz @ 1.5 V, ~130 mW , $17 qty 10k
Poor compiler target.
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An Enhanced Conventional DSP:

TI TMSC55xx

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16-bit Fixed-Point VLIW DSP:

TI TMS320C6201 Revision 2 (1997)
The TMS320C62xx is the

Program Cache / Program Memory

32-bit address, 256-Bit data512K Bits RAM

first fixed-point DSP

processor from Texas
Instruments that is based
on a VLIW-like architecture
which allows it to execute up

Pwr
Dwn
Host
Port
Interface

Program Fetch

Control
Registers

Instruction Dispatch

4DMA

Instruction Decode
Data Path 1
Data Path 2
A Register File

Control
Logic

B Register File

Test
Emulation

to eight 32-bit RISC-like

instructions per clock cycle.

C6201 CPU Megamodule

Ext.
Memory
Interface

L1

S1

M1

D1

D2 M2

S2

L2

Interrupts

2 Timers

Data Memory
32-Bit address, 8-, 16-, 32-Bit data
512K Bits RAM

2 Multichannel
buffered
serial ports
(T1/E1)

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C6201 Internal Memory Architecture

Separate Internal Program and Data Spaces

Program
16K 32-bit instructions (2K Fetch Packets)
256-bit Fetch Width
Configurable as either
Direct Mapped Cache, Memory Mapped Program Memory
Data
32K x 16
Single Ported Accessible by Both CPU Data Buses
4 x 8K 16-bit Banks
2 Possible Simultaneous Memory Accesses (4 Banks)
4-Way Interleave, Banks and Interleave Minimize Access Conflicts

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C62x Datapaths
Registers A0 - A15

Registers B0 - B15

1X

S1

2X

S2

D DL SL

L1

SL DL D S1 S2

S1

D S1

S2

M1

DDATA_I1
(load data)
DDATA_O1
(store data)

D S1 S2

S2 S1 D

S2

S1 D

D1

D2

M2

S2

S1 D DL SL

S2

SL DL D

S2

S1

L2

DDATA_I2
(load data)
DDATA_O2
(store data)

DADR1 DADR2
(address) (address)

Cross Paths
40-bit Write Paths (8 MSBs)
40-bit Read Paths/Store Paths

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C62x Functional Units

L-Unit (L1, L2)
40-bit Integer ALU, Comparisons
Bit Counting, Normalization

S-Unit (S1, S2)

32-bit ALU, 40-bit Shifter
Bitfield Operations, Branching

M-Unit (M1, M2)

16 x 16 -> 32

D-Unit (D1, D2)

32-bit Add/Subtract
Address Calculations

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C62x Instruction Packing

Instruction Packing Advanced VLIW
Example 1

A B C D E F G H
A
B
C
D Example 2
E
F
G
H
A B
C
D Example 3
E
F G H

Fetch Packet
CPU fetches 8 instructions/cycle
Execute Packet
CPU executes 1 to 8 instructions/cycle
Fetch packets can contain multiple execute packets
Parallelism determined at compile / assembly time
Examples
1) 8 parallel instructions
2) 8 serial instructions
3) Mixed Serial/Parallel Groups
A // B
C
D
E // F // G // H
Reduces Codesize, Number of Program Fetches, Power
Consumption

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C62x Pipeline Operation

Pipeline Phases
Fetch

Decode

Execute

PG PS PW PR DP DC E1 E2 E3 E4 E5
Single-Cycle Throughput
Operate in Lock Step
Fetch
PG
Program Address Generate
PS
Program Address Send
PW
Program Access Ready Wait
PR
Program Fetch Packet Receive

PG PS PW PR DP DC
Execute Packet 2 PG PS PW PR DP
Execute Packet 3 PG PS PW PR
Execute Packet 4 PG PS PW
Execute Packet 5 PG PS
Execute Packet 6 PG
Execute Packet 7

E1
DC
DP
PR
PW
PS
PG

Decode
DP
DC
Execute
E1 - E5

E2
E1
DC
DP
PR
PW
PS

E3
E2
E1
DC
DP
PR
PW

E4
E3
E2
E1
DC
DP
PR

Instruction Dispatch
Instruction Decode
Execute 1 through Execute 5

E5
E4
E3
E2
E1
DC
DP

E5
E4
E3
E2
E1
DC

E5
E4
E3
E2
E1

E5
E4 E5
E3 E4 E5
E2 E3 E4 E5

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C62x Pipeline Operation

Delay Slots

Delay Slots: number of extra cycles until result is:

written to register file

available for use by a subsequent instructions
Multi-cycle NOP instruction can fill delay slots while minimizing
code size impact

Most Instructions E1 No Delay

Integer Multiply
Loads
Branches

E1 E2 1 Delay Slots
E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 4 Delay Slots
E1

Branch Target PG PSPWPR DPDC E1 5 Delay Slots

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C6000 Instruction Set Features

Conditional Instructions
All Instructions can be Conditional
A1, A2, B0, B1, B2 can be used as Conditions
Based on Zero or Non-Zero Value
Compare Instructions can allow other Conditions (<, >,
etc)

Reduces Branching
Increases Parallelism

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C6000 Instruction Set Addressing

Features
Load-Store Architecture
Two Addressing Units (D1, D2)
Orthogonal
Any Register can be used for Addressing or Indexing

Signed/Unsigned Byte, Half-Word, Word, DoubleWord Addressable

Indexes are Scaled by Type

Register or 5-Bit Unsigned Constant Index

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C6000 Instruction Set Addressing

Features
Indirect Addressing Modes

Pre-Increment
Post-Increment
Pre-Decrement
Post-Decrement
Positive Offset
Negative Offset

*++R[index]
*R++[index]
*--R[index]
*R--[index]
*+R[index]
*-R[index]

15-bit Positive/Negative Constant Offset from Either B14

or B15
Circular Addressing
Fast and Low Cost: Power of 2 Sizes and Alignment
Up to 8 Different Pointers/Buffers, Up to 2 Different Buffer
Sizes

Dual Endian Support

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TI TMS320C64xx
Announced in February 2000, the TMS320C64xx is an extension
of Texas Instruments' earlier TMS320C62xx architecture.
The TMS320C64xx has 64 32-bit general-purpose registers, twice
as many as the TMS320C62xx.
The TMS320C64xx instruction set is a superset of that used in the
TMS320C62xx, and, among other enhancements, adds significant
SIMD processing capabilities:
8-bit operations for image/video processing.
600 MHz clock speed, but:
11-stage pipeline with long latencies
Dynamic caches.
$100 qty 10k.
The only DSP family with compatible fixed and floating-point
versions.
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Superscalar DSP:

LSI Logic ZSP400

A 4-way superscalar dynamically scheduled 16-bit fixedpoint DSP core.
16-bit RISC-like instructions
Separate on-chip caches for instructions and data
Two MAC units, two ALU/shifter units
Limited SIMD support.
MACS can be combined for 32-bit operations.

Disadvantage:
Dynamic behavior complicates DSP software development:
Ensuring real-time behavior
Optimizing code.

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