What Is an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit?

An application specific integrated circuit is an integrated circuit made for a specific user or a specific electronic system. The universality and mass production of digital integrated circuits has greatly reduced the cost of electronic products and promoted the popularization of computer communications and electronic products. However, it has also caused the contradiction between general and special applications, and the disconnection between system design and circuit production. At the same time, the larger the integrated circuit scale, the more difficult it is to change for special requirements when building a system. In order to solve these problems, there has been an application-specific integrated circuit characterized by user participation in design, which can realize the optimized design of the whole system, with superior performance and strong confidentiality.

Book title: ASIC
Author: (US) Smith

ISBN: 9787121040368
Publishing house: Electronic Industry Press

ASIC Noun Information

Name: Application Specific Integrated Circuit

English name in full: Application Specific Integrated Circuit for short

Subject Terms or Keywords: Information Science Integrated Circuits

ASIC content

Application-specific integrated circuits are more suitable for military applications, and can effectively resolve the contradictions of high performance, small batches, high reliability, and fast cycles of military integrated circuits.

At present, large integrated circuit manufacturers are equipped with strong computer-aided circuit design capabilities. They can quickly design and manufacture ASICs according to user requirements, or accept user circuit designs, or even directly design processes to create users' needs. integrated circuit.

Application Specific Integrated Circuit Definition

Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) is an integrated circuit specifically designed and manufactured for the needs of the entire machine or system, referred to as ASIC. Compared with general integrated circuits, users participate in the development of this product to a certain extent.

Application-specific integrated circuits can integrate the functions of several, dozens, or even hundreds of general small and medium-sized integrated circuits that bear some functions on one chip, and then the entire system can be integrated on one chip to achieve the needs of the system . It optimizes the overall circuit, reduces the number of components, shortens the wiring, reduces the size and weight, and improves system reliability. The product is characterized by strong functions and many varieties; however, the batch size is small, the design cycle is long, and the difficulty of process production and testing increases, so the cost is high.

ASIC development process

The development of ASICs can be divided into three main links: design, processing and testing. But it is more distinctive due to its diverse functions.

ASIC design process

1) The purpose of functional design is to prepare for circuit design, and use system functions for system implementation, which is convenient for hierarchical design according to the system, circuit, and component levels.

2) The result of logic design is to give the logical structure that meets the logical relationship required by the function block. It is implemented with a gate-level circuit or a functional module circuit and is represented by a table, a Boolean formula, or a specific language.

figure 1

3) The purpose of circuit design is to determine the circuit structure (component connection relationship) and component characteristics (component values, transistor parameters) to meet the characteristics of the required functional circuit, taking into account power supply voltage fluctuations, temperature fluctuations and manufacturing errors. Performance changes.

4) Layout design directly serves process manufacturing. It determines the configuration of components, functional modules on the chip, and the wiring paths between them according to the logic circuit diagram or electronic circuit diagram. In order to save the chip area, multiple solutions must be compared until they are satisfactory.

5) Verification is the process of analyzing circuit functions, logic, and layout design with the aid of computer-aided design systems, and considering the possible delays and failures of actual products. Correct the design parameters based on simulation analysis.

In order to strive for a successful product launch, each stage of the design work must be repeatedly compared and optimized to obtain the best design results.

ASIC design

Generally can be divided into full custom design and semi-custom design. The former is to complete each stage of the design in turn according to the flow shown in the figure, and the latter is to use the existing results at a certain stage of the design to make a more effective design. For example, semi-custom design of a module circuit that already has a reasonable layout structure and has proven to be practical after practical use can save layout or manufacturing time. Standard cell method, gate array method, and programmable logic array method are all common methods for semi-custom design using modular circuits.

In a computer-aided design system, the more abundant the basic units developed in the form of a unit circuit library and a macro-cell library, the more favorable is the circuit design. These libraries include basic gates, flip-flops, decoders, microprocessor core circuits, ROM, RAM, and analog circuit modules. The description of the library unit usually has names, functions, Boolean expressions, logic diagrams, circuit diagrams, electrical parameters, layout frames, input, output ports, and layout structure.

ASIC processing technology

The basic technology of ASIC is CMOS, bipolar, BiCMOS, etc. BiCMOS is a hybrid process, which has the dual characteristics of bipolar and CMOS, which is convenient to increase the working speed, reduce power consumption, improve integration, and realize the mixture of analog and digital circuits. The use of gallium arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor materials not only improves the operating speed of the circuit, but also reduces power consumption.

As the required functions become more complex, the device size is gradually reduced, and the number of pins is increased. To meet the number of leads, volume, and heat dissipation performance of the application-specific integrated circuit, the chip and inner lead pressure bonding process is automated. In terms of convenience and other requirements, a packaging process such as a square shell with leads on all sides or two rows of external leads arranged side by side is used. For electronic systems that require high-density assembly, strong vibration resistance, and harsh temperature and humidity environments, chip-carrier packaging and tape-type automatic bonding packaging have been adopted, which improves the degree of automation of their mounting operations on printed circuit boards. Reduced volume and weight.

The application-specific integrated circuit also adopts multi-chip technology, and uses a variety of processes and circuit technologies to prepare a single chip, which is more convenient for designing, manufacturing and testing multi-function application-specific integrated circuits.

ASIC test

Application-specific integrated circuits require circuit designers to be closely involved in testing, and product testing schemes and methods need to be considered from the beginning of circuit design. Test design is an important design content for the development of ASICs.

When designing the circuit, design some additional automatic test circuits and integrate them on the same chip with the designed functional circuit. After the chip is processed, these additional circuits automatically test the chip's functions with software support. This test method tests internal nodes without limitation, and can work synchronously with the circuit under test, improving test quality and saving time.

The traditional test method is still a main method used in the production of application-specific integrated circuits. It is hoped that the input stimulus, output response sampling, and test process will be controlled on an automatic test equipment, otherwise it will be difficult to cope with the expanding circuit scale and functions.

Material defects, processing deviations, and harsh working conditions, especially design errors, can cause circuit failure. Circuit designers use computer-aided design systems to simulate possible faults during circuit design, analyze fault attributes, detect and determine fault locations to improve circuit design, and make it easy to detect these faults during production .

Development and application of ASIC

The development of semiconductor process technology and the development of electronic design automation software have provided strong support for the development and application of application specific integrated circuits. At the end of the 1980s, the complexity of the circuit averaged tens of thousands of gates, the minimum line width was 1 m, and the operating efficiency was about 100 MHz. The integrated circuit is moving towards millions of gates per chip, the chip area is increased to 1 square inch, and the processing line width reaches 0.2 m.

Digital, analog, or digital-analog mixed application-specific integrated circuits have been widely used in various communication systems, image and signal processing fields, high-quality audiovisual products, electromechanical controls, measurement circuits, and computers. In the military and aerospace sectors, application-specific integrated circuits have received special attention, and many critical electronic systems have used their own products. With the emergence of new materials and new processes, the application areas of application-specific integrated circuits are constantly expanding and expanding.

bibliography

Zhilian Yang: "Introduction to VLSI Design Methodology", Tsinghua University Press, Beijing, 1990.

ASIC Books

Translated by Yu Huihua

Publication time: 2007-6-1

Edition: 1

Number of pages: 751

Packaging: Paperback

Categorise Books >> Industrial Technology >> Electronic Communication >> Microelectronics, Integrated Circuits (IC)

Introduction to ASIC Content

This book is a comprehensive and authoritative book on application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The book describes the latest methods of VLSI system design. The use of commercial tools and pre-designed cell libraries has made ASIC design the fastest, lowest cost, and least error-prone IC design method. As a result, ASIC and ASIC design methods have been rapidly promoted in various application fields in the industry.

This book introduces semi-custom and programmable ASICs. After describing the basic principles of digital logic design and physical characteristics of each type of ASIC, the ASIC logic design-design input, logic synthesis, simulation, and testing are discussed, and the corresponding physical design-division, layout Diagram planning, placement, and routing. In addition, this book has a detailed description of all aspects of knowledge and necessary work in ASIC design.

This book can be used as a textbook for advanced college and graduate students, and is also an ideal reference book for engineering and technical personnel in the field of ASIC.

About ASIC Authors

Michael John Sebastian Smith is a researcher, designer, and educator in the ASIC field. He teaches at the University of Hawaii and is also a design consultant for ASIC. He has worked at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center and was one of the founders of Compass Design Automation, which is now part of Avant! Smith has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree from Queen's College, Cambridge University, and an MS and PhD degree from Stanford University. In 1989, he was awarded the title of President Young Researcher of the National Science Foundation.

ASIC Catalog

Chapter 1 Introduction to ASIC

1.1 ASIC type

1.2 Design Process

1.3 Example analysis

1.4 ASIC Economics

1.5 ASIC cell library

1.6 Summary

1.7 Exercises

1.8 Bibliographic Summary

1.9 References

Chapter 2 CMOS Logic

2.1 CMOS transistor

2.2 CMOS process

2.3 CMOS Design Rules

2.4 Combination logic unit

2.5 Sequential Logic Unit

2.6 Data path logic unit

2.7 I / O unit

2.8 unit compiler

2.9 summary

2.10 Exercises

2.11 Bibliographic Summary

2.12 References

Chapter 3 ASIC Library Design

3.1 Transistor resistance

3.2 transistor parasitic capacitance

3.3 Logic Force

3.4 Library unit design

3.5 Library Structure

3.6 Gate Array Design

3.7 Standard cell design

3.8 Data Path Unit Design

3.9 Summary

3.10 Exercises

3.11 Bibliographic Summary

3.12 References

Chapter 4 Programmable ASIC

4.1 Antifuse

4.2 Static RAM

4.3 EPROM and EEPROM processes

4.4 Practical issues

4.5 Specification

4.6 PREP benchmark

4.7 FPGA Economics

4.8 summary

4.9 Exercises

4.10 Bibliographic Summary

4.11 References

Chapter 5 Programmable ASlC Logic Unit

5.1 Actel ACT

5.2 Xilinx ICA

5.3 Altera FLEX

5.4 A1tera MAX

5.5 Summary

5.6 Exercises

5.7 Bibliographic Summary

5.8 References

Chapter 6 Programmable ASIC I / O Unit

6.1 DC output

6.2 AC output

6.3 DC input

6.4 AC input

6.5 Clock input

6.6 Power input

6.7 Xilinx I / O Function Blocks

6.8 Other I / O Units

6.9 Summary

6.10 Exercises

6.11 Bibliographic Summary

6.12 References

Chapter 7 Interconnecting Programmable ASICs

Chapter 8 Programmable ASIC Design Software

Chapter 9 Low-Level Design Input

Chapter 10 VHDL

Chapter 11 Verilog HDL

Chapter 12 Logical Synthesis

Chapter 13 Simulation

Chapter 14 Testing

Chapter 15 ASIC Structure

Chapter 16 Layout Planning and Layout

Chapter 17 Wiring

Appendix A VHDL Resources

Appendix B Verilog HDL Resources

Postscript