Triad Semiconductor announces an ASIC design contest. Designers and design teams are invited to submit ASIC applications that utilize the analog and digital resources found on the VCA-4 platform. The winning designer will have the opportunity to have their design fabricated onto a VCA-4 ASIC for free ($25,000 approximate retail value).

The VCA-4 contains silicon-proven mixed signal resources for NanoPower analog processing, analog to digital conversion, digital processing, non-volatile memory storage, and wired or wireless communication. With these resources designers can create compelling, cost-effective solutions for medical devices, portable electronics, cold chain management, wireless sensors networks, data loggers, semi-passive RFID sensors, capacitive sensor interfaces and more. The contest is meant to showcase the most innovative ASIC design concepts created using the resources of the VCA-4 NanoPower platform.

Once registered, designers can download Triad’s Mixed Signal Design Kit (MDK) containing documentation and libraries for the primitives within the VCA-4 platform. Designers then create and document their design utilizing the VCA-4 resources and submit the design to Triad via email before the contest deadline of June 30, 2006. Design entries will then be judged by a panel of qualified ASIC designers at Triad based on design thoroughness, innovation, and utilization of VCA-4 features. The winning designer will receive up to two days of VCA Design Training from Triad University at Triad’s Winston-Salem, NC facility and then have the opportunity to have their design fabricated onto a VCA-4 platform free of charge.