IC obsolescence: custom ICs provide a solution to lifecycle challenges

With hundreds of thousands of electronic components reaching end-of-life each year, often with little or no advance notice, the piece explores the risks this creates for long-lifecycle industries such as aerospace, automotive and industrial manufacturing. It also looks at the limitations of last-time buys and redesigns and explains how custom ASICs can offer a more sustainable strategy for maintaining production continuity and system reliability. Ross Turnbull reports

In 2023, manufacturers declared nearly 474,000 electronic components obsolete. This number continues to rise and increasingly shapes long-term risk across industrial, aerospace and automotive programmes. How can organisations respond to this challenge and why are custom ASICs increasingly forming part of a sustainable obsolescence mitigation strategy

Data from Z2Data illustrates that in 2023 “more than 328,100 EOL notices were captured, with some 82,200 of those lifecycle changes occurring without any PCN issued. That’s 25% of all total lifecycle changes,” highlighting how many end-of-life events come with little or no advance notice. Without a product change notification (PCN), manufacturers often have no time to prepare for the change, forcing them to scramble for replacement components, redesign circuits or adjust production schedules at short notice — putting delivery timelines and product reliability at risk.

Understanding the obsolescence crisis

The wider obsolescence challenge reflects a fundamental mismatch between the lifecycles of integrated circuits (ICs) and the operational lifespan of the systems they support. Many chips are designed to last between ten and 15 years, while industrial machinery, aerospace systems and high-value automotive products often have lifespans of 20 to 30 years.

Even designs developed with careful forecasting can lose access to critical components unexpectedly, forcing difficult decisions around redesign, qualification or programme viability.

With hundreds of thousands of parts becoming obsolete within a single year and limited advance warning for many of those changes, reactive responses no longer offer sufficient protection. Obsolescence now represents a systemic exposure that requires deliberate planning supported by technically robust options.

The limitations of standard ICs

Standard off-the-shelf ICs introduce unavoidable constraints within this context. When a chip reaches the end of its production life, the manufacturer may offer a last time buy (LTB), allowing companies to purchase a limited supply of parts. While this can work for products nearing the end of their own lifecycle, it’s not a perfect solution.

Relying on an LTB requires manufacturers to invest heavily to purchase enough stock to cover the product’s lifetime. Storage costs accumulate over time and any miscalculation of demand can result in shortages or wasted inventory.

Even sourcing a similar part from another supplier involves several complexities. For example, the new part might not match the original in certain aspects, potentially requiring costly redesigns of other electronic components. In some products, even minor performance changes can have major consequences.

All these challenges point to a situation where there is a pressing need for manufacturers to act on obsolescence as soon as they are aware of a problem. Standard ICs are fast becoming inadequate for long-life products.

A strategic solution

Obsolescence management often begins with a sudden supply interruption that threatens ongoing manufacturing. Application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, provide a robust alternative to standard ICs for manufacturers facing this crisis.

This approach ensures that production can continue without being constrained by the availability of off-the-shelf ICs. One of the key benefits of ASICs is their flexibility across multiple applications. A single custom design can be adapted to support different products, reducing the risk of obsolescence across a manufacturer’s portfolio.

As ASICs are designed specifically for the application they will support, designers can replicate the functions of an obsolete component or surpass its performance. In addition to supporting obsolescence recovery, ASICs deliver a host of benefits for manufacturers, including higher performance, lower power consumption, a smaller footprint, a reduced bill of materials and improved reliability.

They also offer enhanced intellectual property (IP) security, as the circuits are much harder to reverse-engineer, making them particularly valuable for manufacturers and end users that must comply with cybersecurity or functional safety standards.

Planning for long-term resilience

Obsolescence is a continual challenge that cannot be addressed as a one-off problem. But manufacturers facing it today need more than a long-term plan — they need a solution that protects build schedules and service commitments now. Once manufacturers have an ASIC in place, their obsolescence worries will dissipate through the implementation of a proactive management plan.

With the right support, obsolescence can be actively managed. Swindon Silicon works closely with customers to develop a tailored obsolescence management plan, ensuring the chip remains available for as long as the customer requires. Several methods are used to provide long-term availability, including storing wafers in dry nitrogen for up to 25 years or porting the chip design onto a modernised process. By combining custom design with careful lifecycle management, Swindon Silicon helps manufacturers maintain production continuity while futureproofing their products.

The extent of obsolescence is quite large. With hundreds of thousands of parts reaching the end of their life every year and many of these changes happening without prior notice, the risk of obsolescence to manufacturers is increasing.

Ross Turnbull is Director of Business Development at ASIC design and supply company Swindon Silicon Systems.