VLSI system design by the numbers: Design frames and system kits promise to simplify the development of VLSI-based systems

New facilities for the rapid design and fabrication of integrated circuits have significantly eased the task of building systems based on custom chips. With such aids as computer-based layout and simulation tools, remote fabrication services - which make chips from designs sent over a computer network - have put custom-chip development within the reach of the application designer, not just the semiconductor engineer.