ASIA : Oki Electric Industry announced that it has developed a new PCM (Pulse Code Modulation)-based sound generator LSI, the ML2864, which plays 64 polyphonies simultaneously with eight octaves. The ML2864, the third product of the Swing'nRinger™ sound generator LSI series, provides high quality sound with the PCM method and supports global standards including GM (General MIDI) System Level 1, which allows easy download of various sound contents. By adapting Oki's unique W-CSP (Wafer level Chip Size Package) technology, the chip offers the world smallest footprint of its kind. The company will begin sample shipment of the product in December 2003.

"Oki has been providing Swing'nRinger sound generator LSIs for years. These chips have received high appraisal from the GSM (Global Service for Mobile Communications) market thanks to their high sound quality and their compliance to GM and SMF (Standard MIDI File) industry standards," said Hiro Matsubara, General Manager of the Speech LSI Business Unit at Oki Electric. "The newly added ML2864 further enhances the sound quality, raising the competitive advantages of our sound generator LSIs. A number of mobile phone vendors have already expressed interest in adopting the chip - as it meets their exact requirements."

The demand for feature-packed mobile phones is increasing, especially in China, the world's largest GSM mobile phone market. One of the fastest-growing requirements demanded by users is a high quality musical ring tone, and this is made possible through provision of a large number of polyphonies by PCM-based sound generator chip. To meet the challenge, Oki, with the collaboration of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., has developed the ML2864.

The new chip, ML2864, doubles the number of polyphonies, from 32 to 64, which gives musical ring tones of mobile phones much higher and deeper sound quality. The product implements a wavetable ROM and supports GM and SMF standards. By inheriting major features of the existing sound generator LSIs, the new chip is compatible with the existing chips, so music contents can be shared between them. Analog characteristics, including signal/noise ratio and power supply rejection ratio, were also improved. Alongside the enhanced functionality and quality, Oki has also managed to reduce the footprint of the device to a world best of its kind, at 5 x 5 mm, achieved using unique W-CSP packaging technology.

The company intends to introduce the chip to China, Europe, US, Korea and Japan, especially focusing on the GSM and CDMA mobile phone markets. Volume shipping of the new chip is scheduled to start March 2004.

ML2864 specifications:
- Number of polyphonies: 64
- Operating frequencies: 2.7 MHz to 34 MHz
- Operating voltage: 2.7V to 3.3V
- Sequencer: Built-in
- FIFO memory: Three types built in - for music playback, for real-time playback, for ADPCM playback
- Package: 55-pin W-CSP

Shipment schedule and sales plan:
- Sample shipment: December 2003
- Volume shipment: March 2004
- Evaluation board shipment: December 2003
- Production volume: 2 million units per month