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CPUShack
Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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 Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 1:04 am Post subject: Newly made old ICs - by Innovasic |
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Got these in the other day, here is a group shot.
Innovasic makes replacement parts for legacy devices, pretty cool really.
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Neon_WA
Joined: 08 Nov 2008
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Location: Margaret River, West Australia
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 1:24 am Post subject: |
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great pickup 
not sure about the chip manufacturer name... sounds like shopping channel brand 
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CPUShack
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 1:25 am Post subject: |
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hehe their older logo (like on the 59032) shows why the name, innovASIC, as they essentially are creating an ASIC to replace a obsolete device
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Neon_WA
Joined: 08 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 1:31 am Post subject: |
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| CPUShack wrote: | | hehe their older logo (like on the 59032) shows why the name, innovASIC, as they essentially are creating an ASIC to replace a obsolete device |
i wonder if Intel has had a word to them about their i logo
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smithy
Joined: 27 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 1:42 am Post subject: |
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How do they get around the copyright issue?
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CPUShack
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 1:56 am Post subject: |
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| smithy wrote: | | How do they get around the copyright issue? |
Not an issue for them
What they do is characterize a part, so test all ts inputs/outputs with test vectors, as well as how it runs a program, then build a protoype in an FPGA to match it. Takes a bit of work as there is alot of undocumented 'features' in a chip.
They do not physically decap chips or do any die level cloning. So their devices are FUNCTIONALLY equivalent but made on a current fab process.
Other companies such as REI actually license the dies/masks from Intel (and others) and then make them on the original process (1 micron for example). The devices in the pic I posted are made on 0.25u.
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CPUShack
Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 2:00 am Post subject: |
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| Neon_WA wrote: | | CPUShack wrote: | | hehe their older logo (like on the 59032) shows why the name, innovASIC, as they essentially are creating an ASIC to replace a obsolete device |
i wonder if Intel has had a word to them about their i logo |
LOL should be fine as long as its always combined with the 'Innovasic Semiconductor' text
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smithy
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 2:05 am Post subject: |
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Seems like a lot of work - the market for replacements must still be quite large to justify the investment
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CPUShack
Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 2:13 am Post subject: |
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| smithy wrote: | | Seems like a lot of work - the market for replacements must still be quite large to justify the investment |
Very much so.
To redesign a product around a new processor (or IC) is VERY expensive, as well as having devices in the field that you cant replace chips on.
Customers also like to buy stuff they KNOW works, not something that is brand new and never tested.
The *slump* in the economy also helps. Redesigns cost money that companies do not have now, so they just extend the life of their current products.
Companies like Innovasic make it so you dont have to deal with End-Of-Life situations.
Funny some of the things though that they have found when making replacements, like bugs in a design that no one knew about, but because of how the board was laid out, the design albeit flawed, worked.
Or strange errata in a chip that allowed something to work, that shouldn't, its amazing how many things in old designs worked, solely because of some weird glitch, bug, or error IN the chip.
One of the problems Innovasic HAS faced is drive strength, an old 1 micron part can drive alot of current on its outputs, a newly made 0.25u part, not so much. However, the new 0.25u part can be ported to new fab levels as things change, where as a 1 micron part cant (try finding a functioning 1 micron lab lol, tis why REI runs their own)
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