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Gate array master slices are usually prefabricated and stockpiled in large quantities regardless of customer orders. The design and fabrication according to the individual customer specifications may be finished in a shorter time compared with Standard Cell or Full Custom design. The gate array approach reduces the Mask costs since fewer custom masks need to be produced. In addition manufacturing test tooling lead time and costs are reduced since the same test fixtures may be used for all gate array products manufactured on the same Die size. Gate Arrays were the predecessor of the more advanced Structured ASIC; unlike Gate Arrays, Structured ASICs tend to include predefined or configurable memories and/or analog IP. Structured ASICs are till sold by companies such as ChipX, Inc. Drawbacks are somewhat low density and performance than other approaches to ASIC design. However this style is often a viable approach for low production volumes. used several ULA chips in the BBC Micro , and later managed to compress almost all of that machine's logic into a single ULA for the Acorn Electron . Many other manufacturers from the time of the Home Computer boom period used ULAs in their machines. ''' Ferranti ''' in the UK pioneered ULA technology, then later abandoned this lead in semi-custom chips. The IBM PC took over the computer market, and the sales volumes made full-custom chips more economical. Designers still wished for a way to create their own complex chips without the expense of full-custom design, and eventually this wish was granted with the arrival of Field-programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chips CPLD s, and ''' Structured ASIC '''. Whereas a ULA required a semiconductor wafer foundry to deposit and etch the interconnections, the FPGA had programmable interconnections. REFERENCES |
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