A digital signal controller (DSC) is a hybrid of microcontrollers and digital signal processors (DSPs). Like microcontrollers, DSCs have fast

interrupt In digital computers, an interrupt (sometimes referred to as a trap) is a request for the processor to ''interrupt'' currently executing code (when permitted), so that the event can be processed in a timely manner. If the request is accepted ...

responses, offer control-oriented

peripheral A peripheral device, or simply peripheral, is an auxiliary hardware device that a computer uses to transfer information externally. A peripheral is a hardware component that is accessible to and controlled by a computer but is not a core compo ...

s like PWMs and watchdog timers, and are usually programmed using the C programming language, although they can be programmed using the device's native

assembly language In computing, assembly language (alternatively assembler language or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence bet ...

. On the DSP side, they incorporate features found on most DSPs such as single-cycle multiply–accumulate ( MAC) units, barrel shifters, and large accumulators. Not all vendors have adopted the term DSC. The term was first introduced by Microchip Technology in 2002 with the launch of their 6000 series DSCs and subsequently adopted by most, but not all DSC vendors. For example, Infineon and Renesas refer to their DSCs as microcontrollers. DSCs are used in a wide range of applications, but the majority go into motor control, power conversion, and sensor processing applications. Currently, DSCs are being marketed as green technologies for their potential to reduce power consumption in electric motors and power supplies. In order of market share, the top three DSC vendors are Texas Instruments, Freescale, and Microchip Technology, according to market research firm Forward Concepts (2007). These three companies dominate the DSC market, with other vendors such as Infineon and Renesas taking a smaller slice of the pie.

DSC chips

NOTE: Data is from 2012 (Microchip and TI) and table currently only includes offering from the top 3 DSC vendors.

DSC software

DSCs, like microcontrollers and DSPs, require software support. There are a growing number of software packages that offer the features required by both DSP applications and microcontroller applications. With a broader set of requirements, software solutions are more rare. They require: development tools, DSP libraries, optimization for DSP processing, fast interrupt handling, multi-threading, and a tiny footprint.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digital Signal Controller Microcontrollers Digital signal processing Digital signal processors Integrated circuits