Continue to Site

Welcome to EDAboard.com

Welcome to our site! EDAboard.com is an international Electronics Discussion Forum focused on EDA software, circuits, schematics, books, theory, papers, asic, pld, 8051, DSP, Network, RF, Analog Design, PCB, Service Manuals... and a whole lot more! To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.

usage of the terms : IC; ASIC; FPGA

Status
Not open for further replies.

Octago

Member level 1
Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Messages
36
Helped
0
Reputation
0
Reaction score
1
Trophy points
1,286
Activity points
1,557
just a general question which I am always not quite sure

:|

the full-custom integrated circuits (for example which are designed using Cadence) can be called as ASIC.

But does digital circuit on FPGA also belong to ASIC

Hope to hear some clear explaination
:D

thanks
 

ASICs are Application Specific Integrated Circuits, usually meaning this is a special IC for a specific customer and for a specific application.

This can be performed either by a totally individual design + layout (with specific foundry PDK tools and e.g. C@dence tools), where a totally individual chip will be created - these are called "full custom ASICs", or with a FPGA master chip (this is an IC design, where a lot ("array") of different digital - and sometimes also analog - parts are already prefabricated, which will be individually ("application specific") connected by programming.

Both are called ASICs, because both are "application specific". The difference is that the full custom ASICs usually are smaller (cheaper in volume counts) because they don't have unused area overhead, but changes cannot be done without providing a new costly mask set, whereas changes for an FPGA can be much cheaper - just a change of the program - however an FPGA always carries a not negligible part of unused logic/analog which uses silicon area to be paid - hence the chip usually is larger and more costly than a full custom ASIC.

Some FPGAs can be reprogrammed for a changed application without changing the chip itself. i.e. by inserting a new program.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Welcome to EDABoard.com

Sponsor

Back
Top