What Is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)?
A DSP is a series of arithmetic processing devices (processors) that perform digital signal processing.
It can analyze input audio and video data, temperature, acceleration, and other information at high speed and output it in digital or analog format.
A DSP is equipped with independent “program memory” and “data memory,” and data is transferred between them.
In recent years, multiprocessor configurations have been used to perform more complex operations, such as big data processing.
Uses of DSPs
DSPs are used in many products that require high-speed, high-precision signal processing performance.
Because of their ability to modulate and demodulate signals, perform Fourier transforms, and filter at high speeds, they are used in a wide range of applications. This includes personal computers, portable electric fields, digital AV equipment, and copy machines.
For example, DSPs are used in the voice recognition functions of smartphones and in image processing in the medical field.
DSPs are also used to reduce the load generated by power circuits in servers and other devices through digital control using DSPs.
Features of DSPs
Signal processing methods that previously used separate hardware have been used. However, with the advent of DSPs, a significant improvement in signal processing speed has been realized.
DSPs can perform complex operations at higher speeds than general-purpose microprocessors.
The DSPs are equipped with a high-speed AD converter, and the input data is transferred to the memory inside the DSPs.
The memory includes program memory and data memory, with the micro-processing unit (MPU) acting as an intermediary between them.
Each memory and MPU are connected by a bus (signal line), and data is transferred between memories through the bus, enabling processing operations such as sum-of-products.
Program memory stores the program used for data processing, and data memory stores the data to be processed.
The processed data is then output as digital data or analog data after DA conversion.
DSPs are currently being developed that can perform arithmetic processing in a fraction of a nanosecond (about 100 nanoseconds), including all of these processes.