New SHARC processors deliver up to 33% greater performance, 250% more on-chip memory, and 20% lower power consumption than competing processors

NORWOOD, MA --  April 7, 2010  --  Analog Devices, Inc. today unveiled the newest additions to its SHARC portfolio of 32-bit floating point digital signal processors – the SHARC 2148x and SHARC 2147x series. Delivering an optimal balance of performance and price with up to 5 Mb of integrated memory, high performance SHARC 2148x and low power SHARC 2147x series processors extend single-chip, floating point signal processing precision to a wide range of applications and enable high-end system functionality in portable devices. With SHARC 2148x and SHARC 2147x processors, designers can take advantage of end-to-end SHARC family code compatibility and a robust suite of ADI development tools to realize new levels of development efficiency and design innovation via the industry’s highest-performing 32-bit floating point DSP platform.

SHARC 2148x Series
Formerly reserved for specialized systems with board space to accommodate multiple processors and off-chip memory, floating point processing is now more accessible and affordable for designers looking to bring high-end processing power to mass market applications. SHARC 2148x series processors deliver up to 33% greater performance (400MHz) and up to 250% more on-chip memory (5Mb) than competing 32-bit floating point DSPs, distinguishing the SHARC 2148x series as the processors of choice for high definition (HD) audio and home theater applications, as well as advanced industrial applications requiring single-chip, floating point precision at a low price point.  

SHARC 2147x Series
Designers of portable and/or battery-powered systems are now better equipped than ever to leverage floating point processing precision without compromising system power budgets, board space, or component costs.  For portable devices and applications like advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that require floating point processing precision with low power consumption and high environmental tolerance, new 12x12mm SHARC 2147x series processors consume only 363 mW power (typical use-case) – up to 20% less power than competing processors – and deliver performance up to 266MHz with up to 5 Mb on-chip memory to provide more performance and memory integration per square millimeter than any other competing floating point DSP.

Advanced SHARC Family Features
New SHARC 2148x and SHARC 2147x processors feature dedicated hardware accelerators with independent compute units and DMA memory mapping, enabling the ability to execute FFT/FIR/IIR signal processing operations in the background to free up MIPS for core processing. Memory usage is optimized via Variable Instruction Set Architecture (VISA) support, which can free up as much as 30% of memory space for application code through reductions in instruction opcode sizing.

Package Options, Pricing and Availability

SHARC 2148x series processors are available in a range of package options including 176-ld and 100-ld LQFP packages, with pricing starting at $8.20. SHARC 2147x series processors are available in package options including 12x12mm BGA and a 14x14mm LQFP, with pricing starting at $7.85. All prices are based on 10,000 unit quantities. Processors are sampling to customers today. EZ-KIT Lite® evaluation kits for SHARC 2148x and SHARC 2147x series processors are available from ADI’s authorized distributors.