What is ASIC?
ASIC, or application-specific integrated circuit, refers to an integrated circuit designed and manufactured to meet specific user requirements and the needs of specific electronic systems. Currently, using CPLD (complex programmable logic device) and FPGA (field programmable logic array) for ASIC design is one of the most popular methods. Their common features are that they are both user-programmable and support boundary scan technology, but they have their own characteristics in terms of integration, speed and programming methods.
The characteristics of ASIC are that it is oriented towards the needs of specific users, has a wide variety and small batches, and requires a short design and production cycle. As a product of the close integration of integrated circuit technology and the complete machine or system technology of specific users, it has the advantages of smaller size, lighter weight, lower power consumption, improved reliability, improved performance, enhanced confidentiality, and lower cost compared to general integrated circuits.
ASIC customization content:
ASIC is divided into full-custom and semi-custom. Full-custom design requires the designer to complete the design of all circuits, so it requires a lot of manpower and material resources. It has good flexibility but low development efficiency. If the design is ideal, a full-custom ASIC chip can run faster than a semi-custom ASIC chip.
Semi-customization uses standard logic cells (Standard Cell) in the library. When designing, you can select SSI (gate circuits), MSI (such as adders, comparators, etc.), data paths (such as ALU, memory, bus, etc.), memory and even system-level modules (such as multipliers, microcontrollers, etc.) and IP cores from the standard logic cell library. These logic cells have been laid out and designed to be relatively reliable, so designers can complete system design more conveniently. Modern ASICs often contain an entire 32-bit processor, storage units like ROM, RAM, EEPROM, Flash, and other modules. Such ASICs are often called SoCs (System on a Chip).
FPGA is a close relative of ASIC. It usually models the digital system through schematic diagrams and VHDL, uses EDA software for simulation and synthesis, generates a network table based on some standard libraries, and configures it to the chip for use. The difference between it and ASIC is that users do not need to intervene in the layout, wiring and process issues of the chip, and can change its logical function at any time, making it flexible to use.
This is the end of the introduction to ASIC in this issue. If you want to get more information about ASIC, please pay attention and we will continue to answer your questions~
