NEXT (Chip Types and Classifications)
H/W Design Partition
A number of separate pieces of silicon are combined to form the product.
Reasons for H/W design partition:
- Modular Engineering At Large (Revision Control/Lifetime/Sourcing/Reuse),
- Size and Capacity (chips 6-11 mm in size),
- Technology mismatch (Si/GaAs/HV/Analog/Digital/RAM/DRAM/Flash)
- Supply chain: In-house versus Standard Part.
- Isolation of sensitive RF signals,
- Cost: a new chip spin of old IP is still very expensive.