5. ASIC circuit design

5.1 Presentation

ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) are optimized for a specific application, which may be a complex operator or a complete electronic or computer system. For example, we've described the principles behind programmable memories and logic arrays, and shown how they can be used. But these circuits themselves are realized as ASIC circuits. In the case of memories, this is the case of memory packages used to build up large memories. For programmable logic arrays, the circuit is optimized for fast internal interconnections and easy programming of logic blocks and operators.

In view of the wide variety of applications that can be integrated into ASIC circuits, we will confine ourselves to indicating a few general principles involved...