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Idea 2: Add new features to an existing SoC
Differentiating good/better/best models within a product line has become an important marketing approach, and implementing the differentiating features in hardware rather than software gives you versatility and improved speed. Gate arrays provide that hardware at a much lower cost than you would pay to spin a new SoC for each model.
In one example, a design team added an NEC Electronics gate array to work along-side an SoC in a printer. The gate array implemented an LCD controller for some models in the printer family.
Another customer application used a gate array to improve the graphics processing of a display panel in an industrial equipment application. That application was interesting because it required a relatively small number of devices—a total gate array volume of 1000 pieces. At more than 500K gates, the gate array was relatively complex. Even an expensive 90 nm FPGA could not provide high enough performance for the application, but a member of NEC Electronics' 150 nm CMOS-12M series was able to provide a low-cost, fast turnaround solution.
