Faraday Introduces Configurable DSP IP

Using the configurable feature of Faraday's FD230 DSP IP, customers can easily modify the DSP core for specific applications

HSINCHU, TAIWAN – January 23, 2003 Faraday Technology Corporation (TAIEX: 3035), a leading company in ASIC design service and IP development industry, announced that after a big success of its 16-bit embedded DSP core, FD216, the company released the next promising DSP core on its product roadmap. "Faraday Draco 230 (FD230) DSP IP" is a 16/20/24-bit configurable embedded DSP IP core with a superior flexibility letting users creatively tailor the DSP resolution.

"The new architecture allows the FD230 DSP core to be used across a wide-ranging product line from mid-performance to high-speed applications, while offering extendibility for product differentiation," said Frankwell Lin, Sales VP and Spokesman of Faraday. "The FD230 DSP core will expand Faraday's market presence from present MP3 player, digital voice recorder, photo printer, to new applications such as cable modem, multi-channel VoIP home gateway, and AC3 functions in DVD players."

The configurable architecture of FD230 DSP core enables customers to set the data paths of ALU, MAC, and SHT. Other features include an up to 16-MB addressable memory range and instruction cache, which can significantly speed up DSP operation performance and adopts the industry standard AHB bus interface. On the other hand, the flexibility of FD230 doesn't sacrifice its performance, which makes it more competitive. In UMC 0.18 um process, the FD230 DSP performs in excess of 200MHz in the worst case, while the power consumption is only 0.4mW/MHz. Faraday believes these features will enhance the design flexibility, shorten time-to-market, boost product efficiencies and reduce production risks.

To ensure an easy start, Faraday provides DSP customers with a complete developing environment which includes EV Boards, development tools and detailed documentation. Faraday also has a highly experienced team establishing DSP function library, which could greatly shorten customers' design cycle.

About Faraday Technology Corporation
Faraday Technology Corporation provides leading ASIC/SoC design services and production-proven IPs to customers ranging from system houses and IDMs to IC design houses. The company's broad portfolio of key IPs includes leading products such as RISC CPUs, 16/20/24-bit DSPs, USB 2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and Serial-ATA. Faraday's ASIC design services and IPs are widely used in PC peripherals, communication, and digital consumer products. With more than 450 employees and 2002 revenue of 96.2 million USD, Faraday is the largest fabless ASIC design service company in all Asia-Pacific. Headquartered in Hsinchu Taiwan, Faraday offers service and support branch offices around the world, including the U.S., Japan, Europe, and China. For more information on Faraday, please visit http://www.faraday.com.tw