ASICs versus analog and RF/wireless ASIC

The term ASIC may be a misnomer for an analog or RF/wireless/MMIC device. When we think ASIC we seem to equate the term to a large digital chip done in very fine line technology costing many millions of dollars, taking a long time, fraught with risk and fear. That is an apt description of the large digital ASIC in our view. However, an analog or mixed signal or RF/Wireless/MMIC custom chip does not play in the same ball park or even in the same neighborhood. For starters these types of devices tend to be smaller and in terms of number of active devices less complex. Sometimes an analog or mixed signal or RF/wireless/MMIC device may only be a couple of devices! Perhaps its time to come up with a new buzzword for these types of devices. Please check out Signal Processing Group Inc website at http://www.signalpro.biz for more information on these helpful devices. If you register you can get a userid and a password for protected areas of the site that contain much valuable information.