ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)

ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Integrated circuits specially made for certain fields or functions. Semiconductors can be simply categorized into standard semiconductors and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). Standard semiconductors have standardized specifications, so they can be used in any electronic device as long as they meet the basic requirements. On the other hand, ASICs are manufactured-to-order for specific products by semiconductor manufacturers. Therefore, ASICs are designed and manufactured to perform only the necessary functions in particular devices. The devices can be anything from home electronics to cellphones, cars, and more, all of which have different needs that require specific chips. Depending on the users’ needs, ASICs can largely be divided into full-custom IC that is entirely customized from planning to manufacturing, to semi-custom IC that partially makes use of a standardized structure with custom-made circuits. ASICs offer a wide range of products produced in small batches. In order to properly fulfill and satisfy the customizations, it requires incredible semiconductor designing skills.