Megatrend-enabling ASIC technology at Embedded World 2020

According to Richard Mount, Sales and Marketing Director at Swindon, a whole new generation of manufacturers are turning to single chip, custom devices. Many of these are behind a variety of innovative, high volume applications which are being described by many as Megatrends. The key market drivers for many of these applications are electrification, autonomy, smart and connected and clean and efficient.

“Examples include the Smart Factory and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), electric and hybrid vehicles, autonomous driving and all manner of applications that require a feature rich, single chip device that can interface with real-world sensing,” says Richard. “These are all applications where silicon will play a major part in a product by adding functionality in a smaller footprint and providing the commercial advantage.”

Many Advantages

Embracing a customer specific ASIC device brings many other advantages in addition to functionality, size and cost. An ASIC solution will reduce a user’s inventory and bill of materials (BOM) while protecting the originator’s Intellectual Property (IP). The wrongful use of IP is a major threat to all technology companies and many methods can be used to ensure the security of such a valuable asset.  ASICs provide a solution where reverse engineering of the device is difficult if not impossible to achieve.

Customers also choose the ASIC route to guarantee component supply for the lifetime of their product with no gaps in availability. This is in sharp contrast to a solution built using standard components whose manufacturers readily consign them to the obsolescence bin once the part no longer makes financial sense to the supplier.

Global Leadership

Swindon is a leader in high performance, low-cost mixed signal ASICs and integrated Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensor interface solutions and is a major supplier of single package devices across many industrial sectors. Swindon is the global leader and foremost supplier of ASIC/MEMS solutions for Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS), supplying approximately half of the worldwide demand.

Members of the Swindon Silicon Systems team will be on hand at Embedded World to highlight the advantages of these single package devices including ASICs and integrated MEMS sensor interface solutions, System on Chip (SoC) as well as System in Package (SiP) devices.

Swindon will also provide insight into the company’s full turn-key (FTK)solution which commences with the ASIC specification, design, simulation, layout and verification and continues with the evaluation, qualification and in-house production test (both wafer probe and packaged devices) of the ASIC. This also includes wafer fabrication, packaging and evaluation of engineering samples, pre-production and production devices.