Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

This article introduces the relevant knowledge of "what's the difference between ASIC and FPGA". In the operation of actual cases, many people will encounter such a dilemma. Then let the editor lead you to learn how to deal with these situations. I hope you can read it carefully and be able to achieve something!

1. Conceptual differences:

ASIC (Application specific Integrated Circuit) is a kind of IC that takes into account the design purpose at the time of design.

FPGA (field programmable gate array) is also a kind of IC. As the name implies, engineers can reprogram FPGA with the right tools and the right professional foundation.

2. Differences in development process:

FPGA development uses HDL and EDA tools such as quartus and vivado to reconfigure (configure) the function of the chip, while ASIC usually has less reconfiguration ability.

ASIC is basically based on the standard unit design, but also need to do Place & Route. When there is any problem with the chip, you must re-project it again until you achieve the functionality and performance you want. The ASIC design process is very expensive and takes at least a few months to complete.

ASIC can never be changed after leaving the production line. This is why designers need to fully ensure that the design is correct before mass production. Engineers can take advantage of the reconfiguration of FPGA to perform prototype verification of ASIC so that they can fully test the design in the real world before sending it to the foundry.

FPGA is a large number of prefabricated doors and triggers with programmable interconnection features. You can use these basic modules to configure any logical function you want. If there is an error, it can be reprogrammed in a few seconds rather than months to know the result. However, in FPGA, additional hardware overhead is sometimes required to connect correctly.

3. Cost difference:

ASIC has a great advantage in terms of repetitive costs because very little material is wasted in the design. For FPGA, there are always a lot of hardware resources wasted. This means that the repetition cost of FPGA is usually higher than that of similar ASIC.

Although the repetition cost of ASIC is very low, its non-repetition cost is relatively high and usually reaches millions. Because it is non-repetitive, the cost per IC decreases as the volume increases.

Therefore, after ASIC is mass-produced to a certain amount, it can be cheaper to use ASIC than to use FPGA. Compared with FPGA, ASIC has great advantages in power consumption, performance, size and cost.

This is the end of the content of "what's the difference between ASIC and FPGA". Thank you for reading. If you want to know more about the industry, you can follow the website, the editor will output more high-quality practical articles for you!

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.