What is an ASIC?
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is an integrated circuit (IC) customised for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use. For example, a chip designed solely to run a cell phone is an ASIC. In contrast, the 7400 series and 4000 series integrated circuits are logic building blocks that can be wired together to perform many different applications. Intermediate between ASICs and standard products are application specific standard products (ASSPs).
