Q&A on Microelectronics and Technologies (ASIC, FPGA)

Microelectronics is the branch of electronics dedicated to the design and manufacture of electronic components at the micrometer or even nanometer scale. It enables millions—or even billions—of transistors and electronic functions to be integrated onto a single silicon chip (integrated circuit).

  • Electronics encompasses the overall design of systems using electronic components—such as resistors, capacitors, processors, and sensors—that are either discrete or assembled onto a printed circuit board (PCB).
  • Microelectronics operates at the internal chip level, focusing on the design and silicon fabrication of the components themselves (integrated circuits, ASICs, MEMS).

 

In short: electronics involves assembling existing components onto a board, whereas microelectronics involves designing the elements that make up those boards.

An ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) is an electronic chip custom-designed to meet the specific needs of a product or piece of equipment, unlike generic chips (consumer-grade processors, standard microcontrollers) sold off-the-shelf.

ASICs are used in numerous sectors that demand high performance, compactness, cost-efficiency, or energy efficiency:

  • Automotive and mobility: onboard computers, battery management systems (BMS), embedded systems (radar, lidar, displays, etc.).
  • Medical devices: implantable sensors, medical imaging, portable diagnostic devices.
  • Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0: ultra-low-power autonomous sensors, home automation, security systems (fire and intrusion alarms), access control, etc.
  • Telecommunications and Space: 5G/6G chips, radio-frequency processing, satellites.
  • Defense and Security: cryptographic systems, ruggedized computers.
  • Energy: AC/DC converters, power supplies, chargers, solar charge controllers, etc.
  • Computing: controller cards, motherboards, peripherals, network cards, switches, artificial intelligence, etc.
  • Hi-Fi / Video: sound cards, graphics cards, televisions, smart speakers, etc.
  • Home appliances: ovens, washing machines, etc.
  • Consumer goods: mobile phones, tablets, wireless earbuds, smart plugs, personal computers, etc.

 

Do these applications align with your needs? Contact us to benefit from ASTEERICS services.

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Designing your own ASIC offers major strategic advantages:

  1. Reduced production costs at scale: fewer components on the bill of materials (BOM) and simplified assembly.
  2. Enhanced energy efficiency: optimized power consumption, which is essential for battery-powered devices.
  3. Extreme miniaturization: integration of multiple complex functions into just a few square millimeters.
  4. Intellectual property (IP) protection: your algorithms and hardware architectures are etched into the silicon, making them virtually impossible to reverse-engineer.
  5. Supply chain longevity: you control manufacturing and are not vulnerable to the sudden obsolescence of off-the-shelf components.

Four questions are all it takes to determine this. If you answer “yes” to all four, your product fits the exact profile of the SMEs we support:

  1. Does electronics provide a strategic competitive advantage for my product?
  2. Are electronic performance factors (speed, size, weight, power consumption, cost) critical in the face of competition?
  3. Are sovereignty criteria (France/Europe) important?
  4. Does the electronics component account for more than 30% of the product’s final value?

 

However, the simplest way to check your eligibility is to undergo a quick, free initial assessment with our teams to identify the pathway best suited to your needs.

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