ABSTRACT
Application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) represent the half-way house between a full custom design by a semiconductor manufacturer and a circuit built from discrete components. In terms of user definable functionality, programmable logic devices are a class of device between ASICs and a discrete solution. The semiconductor technology refers to the types of transistors, and hence the type of process, used to fabricate the integrated circuit. The layout of different types of ASIC: typical gate array layout, typical standard all layout, and ASIC with both standard cells and functional blocks. The evolution of microprocessor system components is dependent on the processes used to make semiconductors and the design tools with which they are designed. Until recently, this type of technology has only been available to the semiconductor manufacturer owing to its expense and sophistication. This meant that the semiconductor manufacturers could dictate the type and functionality of components they made to sell to their customers.
