Editing Application-specific integrated circuit (section)

== Cell libraries, IP-based design, hard and soft macros ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2025}}

[[Library (electronics)|Cell libraries]] of logical primitives are usually provided by the device manufacturer as part of the service. Although they will incur no additional cost, their release will be covered by the terms of a [[non-disclosure agreement]] (NDA) and they will be regarded as intellectual property by the manufacturer. Usually, their physical design will be pre-defined so they could be termed "hard macros".

What most engineers understand as "[[intellectual property]]" are [[Semiconductor intellectual property core|IP cores]], designs purchased from a third-party as sub-components of a larger ASIC. They may be provided in the form of a [[hardware description language]] (often termed a "soft macro"), or as a fully routed design that could be printed directly onto an ASIC's mask (often termed a "hard macro"). Many organizations now sell such pre-designed cores – CPUs, Ethernet, USB or telephone interfaces – and larger organizations may have an entire department or division to produce cores for the rest of the organization. The company [[ARM (company)|ARM]] ''only'' sells IP cores, making it a [[Fabless manufacturing|fabless manufacturer]].

Indeed, the wide range of functions now available in structured ASIC design is a result of the phenomenal improvement in electronics in the late 1990s and early 2000s; as a core takes a lot of time and investment to create, its [[Code reuse|re-use]] and further development cuts product cycle times dramatically and creates better products. Additionally, [[open-source hardware]] organizations such as [[OpenCores]] are collecting free IP cores, paralleling the [[open-source software]] movement in hardware design.

Soft macros are often process-independent (i.e. they can be fabricated on a wide range of manufacturing processes and different manufacturers). Hard macros are process-limited and usually further design effort must be invested to migrate (port) to a different process or manufacturer.