In the preface, the author states that the target audience is very broad: from college undergraduates to industry application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) engineers. Smith sees the book as some kind of ASIC encyclopedia. From that perspective, the book does in fact address many aspects of the ASIC world. It starts with the basics and includes many areas, including logic design, synthesis, simulation, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), physical design, and testing. The table of contents is helpful for quickly finding a specific subject.

As an introduction to the subject, the book is valuable. However, there is one major problem: it is out of date. The book was originally written in 1997, and this 2008 reprinted edition does not seem to contain any updates or additions. It does not address the needs of today’s ASIC designers. In today’s world, most ASIC designs revolve around system-on-a-chip (SoC) applications. SoCs were a novelty in 1997; in 2009, they are predominant.

The technology references are also outdated. The examples of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology used are 1 µm and 0.35 µm, which are 12-year-old CMOS technologies. In today’s world, 32 nm is already available. The book also mentions gate arrays, which are mostly things of the past. There is no mention of new design for test (DFT) techniques, such as at-speed scan, either.

Another area of importance that the book barely mentions is power. In today’s world of handheld consumer electronics, minimizing power dissipation is always a goal of any design. A simple introduction to today’s power problems, with an overview of potential solutions, requires at least one chapter. The book allocates a meager four pages to the subject, giving a brief description of the power dissipation components within CMOS logic. No solutions or techniques to minimize power are presented.

The world of integrated circuits evolves at an incredible pace. If you are looking to get up to date with today’s world of ASICs and new design techniques, this book is not for you. I would only recommend it to someone new to the domain, as an introductory manual.