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What Is an ASSP? How Application-Specific Standard Parts Work

An ASSP is a specialized integrated circuit sold as a standard product to multiple buyers. Learn how it differs from ASICs, SoCs and generic standard ICs.
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An application-specific standard part (ASSP) is an integrated circuit designed for a particular application or group of applications and sold as a standard product to multiple potential buyers. The two halves of the name describe different things: “application-specific” describes the chip’s intended function, while “standard part” describes how its manufacturer offers it commercially.

What does ASSP mean?

An ASSP is a specialized integrated circuit that a manufacturer develops as a repeatable product for more than one customer. Ansys describes it as an integrated circuit created using ASIC technologies and sold as a standard part to anyone who wants to buy it. Ansys’ glossary also defines an ASIC by its function being tailored to a particular application or group of applications.

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“Standard” does not mean the chip performs a general-purpose task. It means the manufacturer offers the device as a product rather than designing it exclusively for one customer. A standard part is typically documented for use by customers, including with a datasheet and supporting EDA models, as described in Modern SoC Design.

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How is an ASSP different from an ASIC?

ASIC is the broader description of an integrated circuit designed for a particular application. ASSP adds a commercial distinction: the chip is offered as a standard product to multiple potential buyers. An ASSP may use ASIC technologies, but not every ASIC is an ASSP.

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A user-specific IC, by contrast, is designed and produced for one company’s system or strategic needs, rather than marketed as a standard item to multiple customers. The distinction is about intended market, not simply whether a chip is customized internally.

How does an ASSP compare with a generic standard IC or SoC?

  • Generic standard IC: A standard product may serve broad, reusable functions without being tailored to a particular application. An ASSP combines standard-product availability with a specialized function.
  • SoC: System-on-chip describes a level of integration—multiple system functions on a chip—not whether the device is custom or offered as a standard product. An SoC can therefore also be an ASSP, depending on its design purpose and how it is sold.

Terminology is not always used consistently. As chips integrate more functions, the boundaries among SoCs, ASICs, ASSPs, and programmable devices can blur; EEJournal discussed that changing terminology in its 2014 article “The End of ASSP.”

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What are examples of ASSPs?

Examples cited in an integrated-circuits overview include:

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  • Graphics accelerators and multimedia chips
  • Data-compression and forward-error-correction circuits
  • Ciphering and deciphering circuits, and smart-card chips
  • Cellular-radio chipsets, PCIe and Ethernet interfaces, and wireless LAN chips
  • Power-semiconductor driver circuits

These are illustrative categories, not automatic labels. Whether a particular device is an ASSP depends on both its application-focused design and whether its manufacturer sells it as a standard product to multiple customers.

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When should a design use an ASSP rather than a custom chip?

An ASSP can be a practical option when an available product already provides the needed function and interfaces. If no standard part fits, the design choice may involve a custom or semi-custom IC, or a field-programmable device. Modern SoC Design frames that choice around suitability, performance, production volume, and cost; it does not establish a universal volume or cost threshold.

  • Functional fit: Does the part implement the required function and interfaces?
  • Performance: Does it meet the system’s speed and other technical requirements?
  • Production volume: Is the expected volume compatible with the development economics of a custom design?
  • Cost: Compare the relevant development and production costs for each viable approach.

Those factors need to be assessed for the specific design. The term ASSP alone does not indicate a chip’s performance, price, availability, or suitability for a particular product.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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