Traditionally, embedded microcontroller engineers and digital signal processing engineers approached their crafts very differently and very separately. Today, with complex interactions occurring between external events and the application, control and signal processing are fundamentally intertwined.

As processing power keeps increasing, programmable processors have become a critical technology in many high-performance signal processing systems, often in the same application or signal chain as ADI´s high-performance analog products.

The combined need for convergent capabilities and ever increasing processing power opens new opportunities for Analog Devices´ processor families.

Blackfin® embodies a new breed of 16/32-bit embedded processor with the industry´s highest performance and power efficiency for applications where a convergence of capabilities – multi-format audio, video, voice and image processing; multi-mode baseband and packet processing; and real-time security and control processing – are critical. It is this powerful combination of software flexibility and scalability that has gained Blackfin widespread adoption in convergent applications such as digital home entertainment; networked and streaming media; automotive telematics and infotainment; and digital radio and mobile TV.

Blackfin Highlights:

• Single instruction-set architecture with processing performance that meets or beats the competition´s DSP product range - and provides better power, cost, and memory efficiency
• 16/32-bit architecture enables next generation embedded applications
• Control, signal, and multimedia processing in a single core.
• Performance tunable for signal processing or power consumption through dynamic power management.
• Portfolio of code- and pin-compatible products. Under $5 to 1,500 MIPS - leverages engineering development across a wide range of end products.
• Twice the performance and half the power of competing DSPs*, enabling breakthrough specs and new applications.
• Quickly adopted into thousands of designs, supported by multiple tool chains and operating systems.
• Increases developer productivity
• Minimal optimization required due to powerful software development environment coupled with core performance.
• Extensive third party ecosystem mitigates risk
• Supported by industry-leading development tools, RTOS, software providers, and system integration partners.