Application-specific integrated circuit

Evolution Of Gate Arrays

Ferranti and Interdesign were manufacturing early bipolar gate arrays by 1967, marking the beginning of specialized chip history. Fairchild Semiconductor introduced the Micromatrix family of bipolar diode, transistor logic and transistor, transistor logic arrays that same year. Complementary metal, oxide, semiconductor technology opened the door to broad commercialization when Robert Lipp developed the first CMOS gate arrays in 1974 for International Microcircuits Inc. Metal, oxide, semiconductor standard-cell technology followed under trade names Micromosaic and Polycell during the 1970s. VLSI Technology founded in 1979 and LSI Logic established in 1981 later successfully commercialized this approach. A successful commercial application appeared in the low-end 8-bit ZX81 and ZX Spectrum personal computers introduced in 1981 and 1982 respectively.

The Standard Cell Revolution

In the mid-1980s designers chose an ASIC manufacturer and implemented their design using factory-specific tools available from that company. Third-party design tools existed but lacked an effective link to the layout and actual semiconductor process performance characteristics of various manufacturers. Every ASIC manufacturer could create functional blocks with known electrical characteristics such as propagation delay, capacitance, and inductance. These blocks could also be represented in third-party tools to achieve very high gate density and good electrical performance. By the late 1990s logic synthesis tools became available to compile hardware description language descriptions into a gate-level netlist. This shift yielded much higher density devices while reducing non-recurring engineering costs compared to full custom designs.

What is an application-specific integrated circuit?

An application-specific integrated circuit is a customized chip built to perform a single task rather than many. Unlike general-purpose chips found in digital voice recorders or video codecs, these devices are designed for particular uses from the start.

When did Ferranti and Interdesign begin manufacturing early bipolar gate arrays?

Ferranti and Interdesign were manufacturing early bipolar gate arrays by 1967. This event marked the beginning of specialized chip history alongside Fairchild Semiconductor introducing the Micromatrix family that same year.

How complex can modern application-specific integrated circuits become?

The maximum complexity possible has grown from 5,000 logic gates to over 100 million as feature sizes shrank and design tools improved. Modern versions often include entire microprocessors alongside memory blocks like ROM, RAM, EEPROM, and flash memory.

Why do designers choose structured ASIC designs over full custom approaches?

Structured ASIC design reduces both manufacturing cycle time and design cycle time compared to cell-based approaches by virtue of pre-defined metal layers. These structured devices often integrate large blocks of system functionality including digital signal processor units and peripherals rather than only functional units.

What happened when Robert Lipp developed the first CMOS gate arrays in 1974?

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology opened the door to broad commercialization when Robert Lipp developed the first CMOS gate arrays in 1974 for International Microcircuits Inc. Metal oxide semiconductor standard-cell technology followed under trade names Micromosaic and Polycell during the 1970s.

Application-specific integrated circuit.

Evolution Of Gate Arrays

The Standard Cell Revolution

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Common questions

What is an application-specific integrated circuit?

When did Ferranti and Interdesign begin manufacturing early bipolar gate arrays?

How complex can modern application-specific integrated circuits become?

Why do designers choose structured ASIC designs over full custom approaches?

What happened when Robert Lipp developed the first CMOS gate arrays in 1974?

Design Flow And Verification

Manufacturing Methodologies Compared

Intellectual Property And Macros