TI unveils Analog Front End signal processor

BANGALORE: Texas Instruments (India) Pvt. Ltd. (TI) has presented VSP1221, an

Analog Front End signal processor for digital still and video camera

applications. VSP1221 was developed completely at the Texas Instruments, India

R&D Centre at Bangalore for the worldwide market.






The device operates at a minimum of 70 milli-watts of power with excellent noise
performance and has a proprietary offset correction algorithm. The device has a

large programmable gain of 36 dB (decibels), which can be programmed with a fine

accuracy of 0.05 dB steps (which gives control of brightness and contrast).






VSP1221 is used for signal conditioning and analog-to-digital conversion at the
output of a Charge Coupled Device array (CCD - It is the sensor of a Digital

Camera, similar to the film in an analog camera). The device primarily consists

of a correlated double sampler (CDS), a programmable gain amplifier (PGA)

followed by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).






VSP1221 is targeted at high and mid-range CCD based cameras. The VSP1221
operates from a single 3-Volt power supply, whereas the digital interface of the

chip can be decreased to 1.8Volt. It is priced at $ 3.50 for 1,000 units.



A number of design innovations have were used to achieve the dual objectives of
low noise and low power. TI, India has filed 4 patents based on this design.






A paper based on the VSP1221 was presented at the International Solid-State
Circuits Conference 2002 (ISSCC) in February at San Francisco by Texas

Instruments, India, Member Group Technical Staff, Suhas Kuhalli. "The key

design objectives set down for VSP1221 were low power for extended battery life

and low noise (undesirable signals) for high image quality. VSP1221 gives TI a

leading edge over competition in the Digital Imaging Space. We are designing a

family of products for the worldwide digital imaging market, based on this core

design" said Texas Instruments Pvt. Ltd., general manager, Mixed Signal

Technology Centre, Savithiri Seetharaman.