What does analog chip mean?

Analog chips are integrated analog circuits, mainly composed of resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc., used to process analog signals in the form of continuous functions. Analog chips, including power management chips, are responsible for the conversion, distribution, and detection of electrical energy; analog chips are closely related to components, and the design needs to consider the structure of component layout and parameter matching.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 7 system, Dell G3 computer.

What is an analog chip (analog IC)

All information comes from analog signals. The physical environment characteristics of life are analog quantities, which are continuously changing but non-discrete quantities, such as position/sound waves/light intensity/temperature/color/texture, etc. The measurement of these physical quantities is an unrestricted gradient (such as "on and off", "small and large", "black"). When the values ​​of these analog quantities are visually represented by charts, the curves become smooth (the most typical example is the sinusoidal curve). The real world is composed of these continuously changing analog quantities. Information is transmitted to the outside world in the form of analog signals. The integrated circuit used to process analog signals is an analog IC.

The analog chip is the first step in processing external signals. The source of all data is analog signals. The analog chip is an integrated analog circuit, mainly composed of resistors, capacitors, and transistors. and other components, used to process analog signals in the form of continuous functions. Such as sound, light and other integrated circuits.

Analog chips include power management chips that are responsible for the conversion, distribution, and detection of electrical energy. Power management chips perform different voltage and current management functions in different product applications. The signal chain chip is the chip used in the signal path from input to output in the system, including signal collection, amplification, transmission, processing and other functions.

Analog chips are closely related to components, and the design needs to consider the structure of the component layout and the form of parameter matching. There are certain requirements for the accumulation of manual experience. Analog chip products are widely used in fields such as wireless communications, industry, consumer electronics, medical care, smart hardware, and automobiles due to their long service life and relatively low price.

The difference between analog chips and digital chips

Processing signals: Analog IC is an analog signal in the form of a continuous function; digital IC is a discrete digital signal

Technical difficulty: Analog IC has a high design threshold, and the average learning curve is 10-15 years; digital IC is computer-aided design, and the average learning curve is 3-5 years.

Design difficulty: Analog IC has many non-ideal effects, It requires solid multi-disciplinary basic knowledge and rich experience; digital IC has large chip scale, long tool running time, complex process requirements, and requires the cooperation of multiple teams

Process: Analog IC is still widely used in the industry. 0.18 um/0.13um, some processes use 28nm; digital IC is developed in accordance with Moore's Law, using the most advanced technology, and has currently reached 5-7nm

Product applications: analog IC amplifiers, signal interfaces, data conversion, Comparators, power management, etc.; digital ICs are CPUs, microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processing units, memories, etc.

Product features: There are many types of analog ICs; digital ICs are few types

Life cycle: Analog IC is generally 5 years; digital IC is more than 1-2 years

Average selling price: Analog IC price is low and stable; digital IC is high in the early stage and low in the later stage

Analog chip products

1. According to different functions such as transmitting weak electric signals or strong electric energy, analog devices can be divided into signal chains and power chains. . The signal chain is the circuit used to process signals, and the power chain is the circuit used to manage batteries and electrical energy. The signal chain consists of comparators, operational amplifiers OPA, AD\DA, interface chips, etc.; the power chain consists of PMIC, ADC, DAC, PWM, LDO voltage regulators and driver ICs, etc.

#2. According to the application fields of downstream products, analog IC products include general standard product SLIC and special standard product ASSP.

SLIC (Standard Linear IC) is used in different scenarios. The design performance parameters will not be specifically adapted to a certain type of application. According to product type, it generally includes five categories, signal link amplifier Amp, signal converter ADC /DAC, general interface chips, comparators, and voltage regulators in the power chain all fall into this category. The products have the most subdivided categories, the longest life cycle, and the market is very stable.

ASSP (Application Specific Standard Product) is standardized and designed according to dedicated application scenarios. It generally integrates digital and analog ICs, with higher complexity and integration. Sometimes it is also called mixed signal IC. Typical ASSP products include radio frequency devices in mobile phones, physical layer interface chips in switches, battery management chips, industrial power control chips, etc. ASSPs are generally divided into five categories according to downstream application scenarios, including automotive electronics, consumer electronics, computers, communications and industrial markets. They are usually developed for specific scenarios and have higher added value and gross profit margin.

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