Masked versus Reconfigurable Technology \& Computing

There are different types of silicon chip and different types of manufacturer.

Manufacturers can be broadly classified as:

1. So-called `IDM' or `vertical market' chip makers such as IBM and Intel that design, manufacture and sell their chips (Integrated Device Manufacturers).
2. Fabless manufacturers such as NVIDIA and Xilinx that design and sell chips but outsource manufacturing to foundry companies.
3. The foundry companies (such as TSMC and UMC) that manufacture chips designed and sold by their customers.

The world's major foundries are SMC and »TSMC: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limitedbut some verticals also provide fab services, perhaps even to competitors in the application space.

A rough taxonomy of digital integrated circuits.

»Example Standard Cell Project: 8 Bit Adder
»0.5 Micron Cell Library