Partnership Program

The ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) development process can be a daunting challenge for our customers. We strive to make it easy for you. Here we describe the key steps in the process. All we ask of you is to help us understand your requirements. We will take it from there.

No Charge Feasibility Study and Proposal

– We execute a NDA to protect our mutual confidential information.

– You provide your technical requirements – in whatever form that you have – such as a specification, block diagram, system schematics, or even a “wish list” of features.

– If necessary, we will help you partition your system into the optimum ASIC or set of ASICs.

– We will explore the best circuit approach and determine the best semiconductor process for your requirements, while optimizing performance, cost, and schedule.

– We will provide a complete proposal that defines the statement of work, technical strategy, non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs, schedules, and production pricing.

Development Project

– After receiving your purchase order for the project, we will immediately assign the necessary engineering staff and begin the development.

– The first step is to convert your requirements into a mutually acceptable ASIC specification. The next step is the circuit design and simulation of the chip, either by us, you, or together. You decide how you want to proceed – this is the essence of our ASICFLEX^TM program. This is followed by the physical layout and layout verification of the ASIC. Once completed, it is ready for mask fabrication.

– In parallel with these efforts, our product engineer develops the device characterization hardware and the production test program.

– Our foundry partner takes our layout database, makes the photomasks for your design, and runs an engineering lot. Alternatively, a multiproject wafer approach could be used to minimize development costs; however, this usually takes a little longer. Once the fabrication process is completed, we immediately ship “cut and go” (unscreened) prototypes to you and we begin the device characterization process and debugging of the production test program.

Production

– Once the device is fully characterized, it is ready for preproduction. Here, we deliver small quantities in the production package form so that you can evaluate your system and perform any necessary qualification. If you require MIL-STD-883 compliant devices, we will perform the full qualification. Once qualification is finished, we crank up production. Typically, our customers place yearly orders with regular releases, although other arrangements can be made.

How to Get Started

– Contact our sales department. They will send an NDA form to you (or we can use your version) and you can send your requirements to us. After our review, we will arrange a conference call or visit to discuss them and then we begin our analysis.