SX User’s Manual Rev. 3.1 14 © 2000 Scenix Semiconductor, Inc. All rights reserved. www.scenix.com Chapter 1 Overview Overall,  the  concept  of  Virtual  Peripheral  provides  benefits  such  as  using  a  more  simple  device,
reduced component count, fast time to production, increased flexibility in design, customization to
your application, and ultimately overall system cost reduction.       
Some examples of Virtual Peripheral modules are: •   Communication interfaces such as I²C™, Microwire/Plus™ , SPI, IrDA stack, UART, and Modem     functions
•   Internet Connectivity protocols such as UDP, TCP/IP stack, HTTP, SMTP, POP3
•   Frequency generation and measurement
•   PPM/PWM generation
•   Delta/Sigma ADC
•   DTMF generation/detection
•   PSK/FSK generation/detection
•   FFT/DFT based algorithms 1.5 The Communications Controller The  combination  of  the  Scenix  hardware  architecture  and  the  Virtual  Peripheral  concept  create  a
powerful, creative platform for the communications design communities: SX communications con-
troller.  Its  high  processing  power,  re-cofigurability,  cost-effectiveness,  and  overall  design  freedom
give the designer the power to build products for the future with the confidence of knowing that they
can keep up with innovation in standards and other areas. 1.6 Programming and Debugging Support The SX devices are currently supported by third party tool vendors. On-board in-system debug capa-
bilities have been added, allowing tools to provide an integrated development environment including
editor,  macro  assembler,  debugger,  and  programmer.  Un-obtrusive  in-system  programming  is  pro-
vided through the OSC pins. For emulation purposes, there is no need for a bond-out chip, so the user
does not have to worry about the potential variations in electrical characteristics of a bond-out chip
and the actual chip used in the target application. The user can test and revise the fully debugged code
in the actual SX, in the actual application, and get to production much faster. 1.7 Applications Emerging applications and advances in existing ones require higher performance while maintaining
low cost and fast time-to-production.
The SX device provides solutions for many familiar applications such as process controllers, elec-
tronic appliances/tools, security/monitoring systems, consumer automotive, sound generation, motor
control, and personal communication devices. In addition, the device is suitable for applications that
require  DSP-like  capabilities,  such  as  closed-loop  servo  control  (digital  filters),  digital  answering
machines, voice notation, interactive toys, and magnetic-stripe readers.