Chip breakthrough promises turbocharged USB 2

Agere Systems today introduced a USB 2.0 system-on-a-chip with an onboard microprocessor which it claims can process data more than three times faster than existing 8051-based USB 2.0 device controllers.

The USS2828 chip integrates an ARM 7TDMS microprocessor and processes 40 million instructions per second (Mips). The nearest competing chip based on the 8051 microprocessor processes data at 12 Mips, according to the Lucent spin off.

Agere said that this higher processing speed allows more applications to be added via software. These could include the addition of marketable capabilities to USB 2.0 PC-based applications such as cameras, MP3 players and scanners.

One example could be boosting the speed at which a scanner performs image processing.

"Consumers want cameras, MP3 players and scanners with a more muscular engine so they can economically add differentiating, revenue-generating features to their products," said Surinder Rai, marketing director at Agere's enterprise and networking division.

"This chip, because of its wealth of spare horsepower and high level of integration, provides that valuable benefit."

In addition to the integrated ARM microcontroller, other key functions of the new chip include a USB 2.0 high-speed PHY and device controller, a direct memory access controller, a memory controller, a programmable interrupt controller, read-only memory, random access memory, general purpose input-output technology, and two timers.

The chip supports both high-speed USB 2.0 (480Mbps) and full-speed (12Mbps) data transfers. Available now, the chip's pricing varies depending on volumes.