A type of ASIC chip that is partially finished with rows of the transistors and resistors built in but unconnected. The chip is completed by designing and adhering the top metal layers that provide the interconnecting pathways. These final masking stages are less costly than designing a full custom chip from scratch, which requires a new photo-mask for every transistor and interconnection layer.
The gate array is made up of "basic cells," each cell containing some number of transistors and resistors depending on the vendor. Using a cell library (gates, registers, etc.) and a macro library (more complex functions), the customer designs the chip, and the vendor's software generates the interconnection masks. Some cells go wasted on gate array designs, which is the penalty for having fixed locations for everything. See PLD, ASIC, hard macro and soft macro.
Gate Array Cells
These are examples of basic cells used in gate arrays. One uses CMOS logic only (NMOS and PMOS transistors), while the other adds bipolar transistors for higher output power.
The gate array is made up of "basic cells," each cell containing some number of transistors and resistors depending on the vendor. Using a cell library (gates, registers, etc.) and a macro library (more complex functions), the customer designs the chip, and the vendor's software generates the interconnection masks. Some cells go wasted on gate array designs, which is the penalty for having fixed locations for everything. See PLD, ASIC, hard macro and soft macro.
Gate Array Cells
These are examples of basic cells used in gate arrays. One uses CMOS logic only (NMOS and PMOS transistors), while the other adds bipolar transistors for higher output power.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- GATE 1.3.1 (Windows)
- GATE (Grid Analysis of Time-Series Expression) is an integrated computational software platform for the analysis and visualization of high-dimensional bio-molecular time-series. GATE uses a correlation-based clustering algorithm to arrange molecular time-series on a two-dimensional hexagonal array and dynamically colors individual hexagons according to the expression level of the molecular component...
- Software downloads 2009-11-17
- The Wizard's Brainwaves 1.0 (Windows)
- In this economically challenged times, there still exist a large number of businesses with which one can make a good living. The Wizard's Brainwaves enumerates 999 brilliant yet simple business ideas which will suit everyone in terms of ideas, pocket and aptitude. One may follow just one or more than...
- Software downloads 2009-07-29
- Channel ambition is not a conspiracy
- Channel ambition is not a conspiracyI'm still trying to understand.......how people had their hopes dashed about Android at Computex. If you read any of the Android sites most were quite excited about what was being shown. I'm still not sure I understand your coverage of the event as opposed to...
- Discussion threads 2009-06-22
- VLSI Design of an Anti-Collision Protocol for RFID Tags
- Radio Frequency Identification RFID is slated to become a standard tracking and tagging system for various products chain management systems. Since more and more products become RFID enabled, a faster identification mechanism must be needed. The anti-collision algorithm is one of the basic mechanisms used to address the issue of...
- White papers 2009-05-07
- Exploiting Reconfigurable Hardware for Network Security
- One type of network security strategy is using an Intrusion Detection System IDS. They are implementing IDS in FPGA-based Field Programmable Gate Array reconfigurable hardware. This is to achieve higher speed and more efficient performance of network security, as networks develop very fast with consequently more demanding constraints. This paper...
- White papers 2009-01-01
- 2009 Acura RL
- Photo gallery:2009 Acura RLThe 2009 Acura RL is an evolved version of the generation of Acura's flagship that first entered the market in 2005. The main changes to the car's exterior styling are bolder chrome flashes across the revised fascia and rear decklid, as well as the usual nips, tucks,...
- Product reviews 2008-10-20
- Images: Supersize solar power
- Utility-scale solar power plants--using everything from giant reflective dishes to plastic balloons--are changing the look of solar power.Parabolic troughs, one of which is shown here, have been around for 25 years, and the technology will be around for at least another 25. Parabolic troughs reflect sunlight to heat liquid carried...
- Image galleries 2008-05-26
- Self-healing computers for NASA spacecraft
- As you can guess, hardwired computer systems are much faster than general-purpose ones because they are designed to do a single task. But when they fail, they need to be totally reconfigured. This can be just a costly problem in a lab on Earth, but it can be vital in...
- Blog posts 2008-04-25
- Black Hat, Day 1: Cracking GSM and skimming ATMs
- Day 1 at Black Hat brought some outstanding talks. The day started off with David Hulton (aka h1kari, also the producer of ToorCon) and Steve from THC, who presented on "Cracking GSM". It was quite interesting due to the tie-in that David has with Pico...
- Blog posts 2008-02-20
- FPGA Design of Boyer-Moore Algorithm for Spyware Detection
- Spyware is becoming increasingly destructive and sophisticated in threatening the privacy and efficient computing of the internet users. This new paradigm has opened the path for vendors to stop or substantially reduce the spreading of this uninvited program. Software and hardware approach has been identified to be implemented in order...
- White papers 2008-02-11
- National Security and the PC
- The best thing about being an intellectual right-winger is that I am, of course, always right -something that can't generally be said for everyone. In particular it can't be said for a guy named Lewis Page whose report: DARPA looking to verify imported military chips, on the Register...
- Blog posts 2007-11-14
- Driving with poor vision becomes possible
- Spanish researchers have developed and successfully tested a computer simulator allowing visually impaired to drive. This system is called SERBA (short for 'Sistema Electro-óptico Reconfigurable de ayuda para Baja Visión'), which means 'Reconfigurable Electric-Optical System for Low Vision' in English. This innovative system is based on a reconfigurable device known...
- Blog posts 2007-10-17
- Build a $2,500 supercomputer
- Build a $2,500 supercomputerYou do need a day off!Monday is Labor Day! lol!Add a Terabyte or four Raid Array to the system.Add a Terabyte or four Raid Array to the system. Available now for $600 in refurb units at buy.com. Don't forget the advent of quad cpu's...
- Discussion threads 2007-09-01
- WEP - Gone in Sixty seconds!
- WEP - Gone in Sixty seconds!Better than nothing[i]In my book, sixty seconds worth of protection does not classify as "better than nothing".[/i]Of course it's better than nothing. Without it, my neighbors might not realize that they're connecting to my line instead of their own.Since the 802.11 AP is on...
- Discussion threads 2007-04-05
- 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450
- The 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450 is about as much Teutonic luxosheetmetal to use a compound German phrase as you can get on four wheels. At more than 200 inches in length, the seven-seat SUV has plenty of room to transport five full-size passengers in comfort, and even some usable room left...
- Product reviews 2007-03-15
- Details of the Samsung Q2 UMPC emerge
- Samsung was the first out of the gate in the new UMPC category with the Q1 device that was released last May. I bought one soon after the release and have used it quite a bit on short business trips, but it looks like I will soon be parting ways...
- Blog posts 2007-03-08
- 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander
- Photo gallery:2007 Mitsubishi Outlander Among the small sport utilities on the market today, the 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander rises above the fray with an...
- Product reviews 2006-12-14
- HP Pavilion d4600y
- HP is not generally known for being first out of the gate with new technology, but to its credit, the company was right there on launch day with a system built around Intel's new Core 2 Duo CPU. The HP Pavilion d4600y sticks a Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU inside...
- Product reviews 2006-07-27
- A thousand processors on one chip
- A thousand processors on one chipQuestion:One of the more intractable problems in signal processing apps, and a real gate in multi-processor machines, is the ability to do matrix transpositions. A decade ago, some friends of mine and I designed a device that could do an 8x8 transpose on a...
- Discussion threads 2006-04-05
- Lenovo ThinkPad T60
- The first new iteration of the ThinkPad T series since Lenovo bought the ThinkPad business from IBM, the ThinkPad T60 retains its trademark design but adds in the latest components, including Intel's Core Duo chipset and a handful of new features. Unlike its more consumer-focused thin-and-light counterpart, the wide-screen ThinkPad...
- Product reviews 2006-03-10
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- New Online Dashboard for IT Leaders
-
Read about top issues IT decision-makers face every day, plus get cost-effective solutions to real-life IT problems.
- Learn more >>
- The best support in the Linux business
-
If Linux is going to power your mission-critical applications, you'd better have the best support known to business. Novell was rated the top provider of Linux technical support.
- Learn more >>
- Save time with automated shipping solutions
-
The Business Essentials Guide provides you useful tools and templates to help grow your business and save you time with automated shipping solutions.
- Visit the UPS Business Essentials Guide
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online - Free Six-Month Trial for Eligible Organizations
-
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online provides fast online access, simple contact management and better sales performance for a low monthly cost - the best value on the market today.
- Learn more about the free, six-month trial offer>>
Popular Sanity Saver Videos
