EMS & PRODUCT DESIGN FEATURE CHOOSE WISELY Embracing silicon for a competitive edge
Companies can positively impact their future by embracing the many advantages of higher integration, through the increasing use of silicon, says Richard Mount of Swindon Silicon Systems. Here, he outlines the technical and commercial benefits of taking the mixed signal ASIC route when designing integrated circuits
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whole new generation of manufacturers are turning to silicon, and are responsible for a variety of new, high volume applications, each driven by the dominant market trends of electrification, autonomy and smart/ connected technology. Examples include the Smart Factory and
the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), autonomous driving and all manner of applications that require sensor interfaces. These are all applications where silicon plays a major part, adding functionality in a smaller footprint, at ever decreasing costs. Here are the key reasons why designers should consider an ASIC silicon solution for their next generation product.
FUNCTIONALITY
A mixed signal ASIC is designed to include a wide variety of both analogue and digital functionality, necessary for the application. The result is a chip that will deliver an optimised performance to the customer’s requirements, saving board space in the process.
Once the required operating voltages are specified, inclusions such as a choice of memory type - Flash or EEPROM - and power management should be considered, as well as ADCs, DACs, low and band-pass filtering, and sensors including MEMS pressure, photodiode and temperature, frequency generators and a wide choice of communication protocols, both wireless and wired. Device protection is an important element, such as EMC, and surge and reverse polarity, enforcing robustness in the field. All this adds up to a silicon device that is functionally unique.
DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING COSTS Over a relatively short number of years, the cost of designing custom silicon has fallen dramatically, and the long-held myths of projects over-running their budget are long gone. Experienced ASIC companies, like Swindon Silicon Systems, have existing silicon-proven IP libraries
that they can leverage along with other commercially available IP, keeping design times and costs down. Many of today’s applications are generally based on mixed signal designs, using geometries from 55nm up to 350nm. As the high-volume consumer electronics market is primarily served by digital designs and ever reducing geometries, there are geometry nodes that fit the mixed signal design, readily available. These nodes may not be suitable for the very latest, highly integrated and high- performance digital ICs. But, they remain ideal for mixed-signal solutions, both technically and from a cost perspective. To maximise their foundry utilisation,
manufacturers need to continually attract new customers. They achieve this by offering competitive engineering costs, both in wafer production and production tooling, such as masks and IP. These low manufacturing costs can be improved further when partnering with an established, full turnkey ASIC company like Swindon.
IP PROTECTION AND NON-OBSOLESCENCE One of the principal reasons why a company will commission an ASIC is to protect its Intellectual Property (IP). The strength of an ASIC is that it is extremely difficult to re-engineer the IC, or for it to be “re-used” in other designs. Customers also choose the ASIC route
to guarantee component supply for the lifetime of their product, with no gaps in availability. Silicon companies such as Swindon will usually guarantee that the device will be available until the customer ends its product manufacture, by using a few methods such as storing wafers in dry nitrogen cupboards for up to 25 years. This is in sharp contrast to a solution built using standard components, whose manufacturers readily consign them to
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the obsolescence bin, once the part no longer makes financial sense to the supplier.
THE DESIGN TEAM PARTNERSHIP ASICs are complex devices containing many functions, of which you can learn more about via Swindon’s online IC builder. Since all successful ASIC projects rely on close intellectual co- operation between the system designers and the chip supplier’s design teams, choosing the correct ASIC supplier is crucial. The chosen supplier needs to fully understand the application’s technical, commercial and functional safety requirements from the outset, in order to be able to provide the best silicon solution. There may be a range of standard devices available that may be adequate for the application. However, an ASIC provides the best solution and not a compromise. In the automotive sector for example, reliability and robustness are extremely important aspects, along with size, performance and cost. These areas are where an optimised ASIC solution stands out from the crowd.
Swindon Silicon Systems
www.swindonsilicon.com
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