Page 16 - DSP Integrated Circuits

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DSP INTEGRATED

CIRCUITS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Rapid advancements in electronics, particularly in manufacturing techniques for
integrated circuits, have already had, and will undoubtedly continue to have, a
major impact on both industry and society as a whole. In this book we will dis-
cuss various approaches to designing integrated circuits for digital signal pro-
cessing (DSP) applications. Modern DSP systems are often well suited to VLSI
implementation. Indeed, they are often technically feasible or economically via-
ble only if implemented using VLSI technologies. The large investment neces-
sary to design a new integrated circuit can only be justified when the number of
circuits to be manufactured is large, or when the necessary performance require-
ments are so high that they cannot be met with any other technology. In practice,
we often find that both arguments are valid, particularly in communication and
consumer applications. Advances in integrated circuit technology also open new
areas for DSP techniques, such as intelligent sensors, robot vision, and automa-
tion, while simultaneously providing a basis for continuing advancements in tra-
ditional signal processing areas, such as speech, music, radar, sonar, audio,
video, and communications.
Integrated circuit technology has had a profound effect on the cost, perfor-
mance, and reliability of electronic circuits. Manufacturing cost is almost indepen-
dent of the complexity of the system. The cost per integrated circuit (unit cost) for
large-volume applications using large chips is dominated by the cost of the chip,
while for small and medium size chips the package cost tends to dominate. The
whole system cost for small-volume applications is often dominated by the devel-
opment cost. Unfortunately, the development cost is often difficult to estimate
accurately. Increase in system complexity and integration of the manufacturing
and design processes tend to increase development costs and cause long design
times. However, these adverse effects can be mitigated by extensive use of com-
puter-aided design tools and the use of efficient design methodologies. Today, com-
puter-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) are used
extensively in almost all aspects of electronic engineering. To explore VLSI tech-
nology optimally it is necessary that the design team cover all aspects of the

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