Blackfin
| Blackfin | |
|---|---|
 Blackfin BF535 |
|
| Producer: | Analog Devices |
| Processor clock: | 300 MHz to 600 MHz |
Blackfin is a microcontroller family whose core was developed by Analog Devices and Intel under the name Frio . It is a combination of a 32-bit RISC processor and a 16-bit fixed point DSP with two MAC units with SIMD capability. Thanks to extensive peripheral blocks, there are various areas of application: multimedia applications in mobile devices, such as digital photo and video cameras, as well as in computationally intensive medical and industrial applications. In the automotive sector, Blackfin processors are mainly used in driver assistance systems and in infotainment applications.
The maximum clock rate of the processor core is up to 750 MHz, it contains a relatively large internal "L1 memory", which can also be used as a cache memory. The arithmetic unit ( ALU ) consists of two separate, parallel units with two 40-bit-wide accumulators . In addition, the Blackfin offers so-called "hardware loops ", with which loops can be implemented without computing time for the loop counter. A loop register (“Zero-overhead Loop Registers”) with a start address, an end address and a loop counter is loaded using a special machine command. Any assembly commands between the two address details are run through as often as is specified in the loop register, without the need for conditional jump commands. This makes it possible to efficiently implement loops without the software having to continue counting a loop counter and subsequently checking whether the termination condition has been reached. This is a speed advantage , especially when implementing short loops in the field of algorithms from digital signal processing , such as those typically represented by digital filters or the fast Fourier transform . The digital signal processors of the SHARC family also have similar commands .
In addition, the architecture includes extensive input-output interfaces such as synchronous serial ports, called SPORTs for direct connection of analog-to-digital converter and digital-to-analog converter , UARTs , RTC , a SDRAM - controller and various input-output ports. The synchronous, 16-bit wide PPI interface, which is suitable for the direct connection of graphic displays and CMOS sensors, should be emphasized . The constantly growing processor family also offers variants with two processor cores, L2 memory, Ethernet MAC, USB , CAN , I²C and others.
The software package VisualDSP ++ and a proprietary real-time kernel called VDK are available from Analog Device as a development system for the Blackfin . In addition, there is a port of μClinux including the necessary tools such as uClibc and the GCC for the Blackfin. A JTAG connection is available as a development interface and for programming the hardware . Linux supported the Blackfin architecture from kernels 2.6.22 to 4.16.
literature
- Analog Devices: ADSP-BF533 Blackfin Processor Hardware Reference Manual . 1st edition. December 2003 (Part Number 82-002005-01).
Web links
- Analog Devices manufacturer website
- uCLinux for the Blackfin processor
- Bluetechnix Blackfin-based processor modules