PC Based Customized VLSI

Abstract

During the 1970’s, the microprocessor became an important device for the system designers which provided a software solution for certain design problems. More recently, in order to optimize hardware for the end application, electronics manufacturers are also moving to integrate their systems or subsystems onto their own customized chips. This custom VLSIs have proven themselves the optimum answer for circuit implementation in a wide range of applications. As a sequence, increasing use of customized VLSI is rapidly changing the electronics market. System designers require more specialized chips as application requirements grow in complexity. Market projections estimate that by the late 1980s, more than half of the industry’s semiconductor sales will come from custom chips designed specifically for a single user, or from semi-custom chips that can be tailored to meet unique requirements.(1) More significantly, it predicts that nearly 40% of these will be designed by their end users.(2)