9. Specialized circuits

9.1 Principle

Applications such as cell phones, handheld PCs, automotive equipment, game consoles, etc., justify the development of specialized ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) integrating all the functions involved in these applications. The trend is to avoid proprietary wired solutions. The latter may prove satisfactory when production runs are very large or reserved for very specific markets. On the other hand, if applications for which standards exist have to be implemented, their durability cannot be guaranteed, as they are always subject to change. These circuits may include: a DSP core, a microcontroller, memory, units dedicated to time-critical processing (data flow processing, pixel manipulation, etc.), etc.

In general, ASIC-based solutions...