ASICs Claim Fast Time To Production

Called Module Based Arrays, this new family of ASICs targets designs that require higher densities and higher performance than programmable devices, but whose volumes do not support the high NRE and volume requirements of standard cell technology. The COSMIC (Cycle Optimized Sea of Modules Integrated Circuits) family emphasizes time-to-production, a concept that embraces not only time-to-market, but also a rapid ramp to full volume production. The COSMIC family is implemented in a high-performance 0.35-micron CMOS that works off of a 3.3V supply and offers 5V tolerant I/O. Three family members are currently available: 190,000, 275,000, and 375,000 gate devices with clock rates greater than 100 MHz. The ASICs also pack dual-port RAM in each module that can be used as a data buffer, FIFO or other memory. And each device has two high-speed analog PLLs. The devices come housed in BGAs or QFPs.