The programmable logic industry has come a long way since Xilinx launched the first FPGA in 1985. Meanwhile, ASICs in their gate-array and standard-cell manifestations have seen a lot of ups and downs.

An interesting turning point came a few years ago with the inception of the structured ASIC, which promised faster time-to-market compared to cell-based ASIC through predefined metal layers (to reduce manufacturing cycle time) and pre-characterization of what is on silicon (to reduce design cycle time).

Here comes another mutation in the semiconductor fabric—and the shadows of ASIC and FPGA entities don't land far from this new episode.

First, QuickLogic Corp. is breaking away from its FPGA past to focus on an ASSP-like segment called customer-specific standard products (CSSPs). Admitting to having a hard time competing against Altera and Xilinx—the Coke and Pepsi of the FPGA world, according to QuickLogic CEO Tom Hart—the company is lumping its products with the ASSP market.

CSSPs are in fact ASSPs with some degree of unique programming that can be customized to suit a specific customer's needs and thus bring the required differentiation. CSSPs add the benefit of programmability to create the flexibility needed for customization and combine that with high integration and performance of hard-logic design.

In May, Atmel Corp. launched a somewhat similar initiative: a customizable metal programmable MCU that it calls the Customizable Advanced Processor (CAP) platform. It's not quite an ASSP or an FPGA or an ASIC, but a device that has features and capabilities of all of these alternatives.

What Atmel is doing is taking 85 percent of a fixed part in the form of an ARM-based MCU and developing the remaining 15 percent by attaching gate arrays to allow necessary customization. In other words, use the MCU as a standard part and for what is missing in terms of parts required for new standards, interfaces and IP can be developed and embedded later on. You still have to pay for the mask costs, but less so, since you need to touch fewer layers.

Atmel, a company that has experience in designing standard products around cores, is in fact trying to turn its MCUs into semi-custom ASIC devices. As compared to QuickLogic, what Atmel offers is a hard-core design that is somewhat closer to an ASIC.

It's a cross between standard and semi-custom product approaches, and Atmel is hoping for good response from system designers, since system houses prefer to have their own devices at a lower cost.

QuickLogic is hoping for the same and now aiming its CSSPs at cellular, computing and consumer markets, where low power is a must.

Both semiconductor outfits seem to have found innovative ways to complement their products. Atmel and QuickLogic are two early entrants in this new silicon crossover, but they will very likely have some company in the coming months.

With the backdrop of the structured ASIC story, it's probably too early to say how these design innovations will fare. Is it just new wine in the old bottle, or is something going to change with this crossover of existing silicon architectures?

All of this, however, is reassuring in the sense that the semiconductor industry is not resting on its laurels and that its quest for new innovative venues hasn't slowed down. We are looking forward to more action in this space in the coming months.

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