In 2026, Pacific MicroCHIP marks 20 years of ASIC design services and turnkey solutions. We spoke with CTO Denis Zelenin about that journey, the company’s growing range of products—from a 56 GS/s ADC to RF spectrometers—and what customers increasingly expect from custom silicon.

Tell me a bit about your background. How did you first get started with Pacific MicroCHIP?

My background is in RF and mixed-signal integrated circuits. Before cofounding Pacific MicroCHIP, I was involved in RFIC design, and I have always enjoyed the challenge of connecting circuit-level innovation with a practical system. What appealed to me at Pacific MicroCHIP was the opportunity to work on difficult, often unusual ASIC problems beyond the schematic, layout and simulation – from architecture and silicon implementation to measurements in the lab.

Tell me about Pacific MicroCHIP.

Pacific MicroCHIP is a California-based company that has been providing ASIC design services and turnkey solutions since 2006. We specialize in analog, RF, mixed-signal and digital designs, often integrating all of them on a single chip. Some customers need a particular IP block or help with one design stage; others want us to take a project from the specification through fabrication, packaging, evaluation boards and silicon characterization. That flexibility has been an important part of our business for 20 years.

Pacific MicroCHIP is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026. What does that milestone mean to you?

Twenty years is a meaningful milestone in this industry. Semiconductor technologies, tools and markets have changed tremendously since 2006, but the fundamentals of good engineering have not. You need to understand the real customer problem, make thoughtful trade-offs and then prove that the design works in silicon. I see this anniversary as recognition of the work our engineers have done, the relationships we have built and the fact that customers continue to bring us challenging projects.

What problem did you see that needed to be fixed? What is your approach to solving it?

There is often a large gap between what a system designer needs and what standard semiconductor components can provide. In high-performance instrumentation, communications or space systems, that gap may involve bandwidth, power, size, interfaces or some combination of all four. A custom ASIC can close the gap, but only if the project is approached as a complete engineering problem. We look at the architecture, the silicon process, testability, packaging and board-level integration early, rather than treating them as separate problems at the end.

How has Pacific MicroCHIP’s offering changed over the years?

ASIC design services remain our foundation, but our offering has broadened considerably. Alongside custom development and reusable IP, we now have a growing portfolio of our own ASIC products and board solutions. That includes very high-speed data converters, RF spectrometers, radiometer and correlator devices, and multichannel data-acquisition ASICs. It also reflects a greater emphasis on turnkey execution: customers may want not just a working chip, but something they can evaluate and integrate into an instrument or product.

You have introduced a 56 GS/s ADC. What makes that product significant?

Our P26600A is an 8-bit ADC designed for sampling up to 56 gigasamples per second. At those speeds, the ADC core is only part of the challenge. Clock distribution, calibration, signal integrity, output data handling and packaging all have to work together. The device combines direct RF digitization with high-speed digital readout and capture capabilities. It is a good example of how we have advanced from designing individual functional blocks to developing complex mixed-signal products that can also serve as building blocks in customers’ own ASICs.

Spectrometer products are another important part of your portfolio. What has your team developed there?

Spectrometers show why integrating analog and digital functionality can be so powerful. Our product family includes spaceflight proven P19800B and P19800C 4 GHz RF spectrometer ASICs and the P23801A dual-channel 10 GHz spectrometer ASIC with polarimetric analysis. We also offer related radiometer and evaluation-board solutions. Instead of building an instrument from many separate chips, designers can move substantial signal processing into a dedicated ASIC. That can simplify the system and help reduce size, weight and power – particularly valuable for remote sensing and scientific instruments.

Are there other products that demonstrate the range of your design capabilities?

Yes. For example, we have developed a radiation-hardened three-channel sigma-delta ADC, the P16SC601, as well as the P20640B, which integrates 32 channels of 12-bit, 200 MS/s ADCs with event-building functionality. Our portfolio also includes correlation radiometer and cross-correlator ASICs. These are quite different applications, but they share an engineering approach: integrate the functions that matter most, keep the overall system practical and validate the solution at the chip and board levels.

Which market segments look especially promising to you, and why?

I see strong opportunities in space and Earth observation, scientific instrumentation, aerospace and defense, and advanced communications. These are fields where ordinary off-the-shelf solutions may be insufficient and where power, bandwidth, reliability or form factor can determine whether a system is feasible. At the same time, the growing importance of high-speed data conversion and on-chip signal processing creates opportunities across several markets. Our goal is to apply the right architecture to each problem, rather than chase a single application.

What is a typical customer for Pacific MicroCHIP?

There really is no single typical customer. We work on problems relevant to equipment manufacturers, specialized instrument developers and research organizations. Some teams have a strong system concept but need custom-silicon expertise. Others already have an ASIC architecture and need help with a challenging RF, analog or digital block. What they usually have in common is a demanding specification and a reason why an off-the-shelf component does not fully meet their needs.

Customers have always cared about time-to-market, first-time-right design and price. Has their focus changed?

They still care about all three, but today I hear more emphasis on reducing overall project risk. The questions are not only “Can you meet the ADC specification?” but also “How will the chip be packaged, connected, tested and qualified in our system?” That is why early discussion of interfaces, power budgets, evaluation hardware and test plans is so important. A strong design needs a credible path from the first simulation to useful hardware.

What are the three things you most wish customers would do earlier in an ASIC project?

First, share the system-level objective, not only a list of chip specifications. Second, identify the non-negotiable constraints—especially power, cost, package, interfaces and schedule—before the architecture is locked. Third, plan for characterization and system integration from day one. Those three steps make the technical discussions much more productive and can prevent expensive changes later.

What is your number-one advice for an engineer who wants to work on projects like yours?

Be curious beyond your immediate specialty. An excellent ADC designer still benefits from understanding clocks, digital interfaces, packaging and how the customer will use the chip. Semiconductor development is a team effort, and some of the most important decisions happen at the boundaries between disciplines. I value engineers who can go deep technically but are also willing to ask how their work affects the complete system.

Where can readers find out more about Pacific MicroCHIP?

Our website, www.pacificmicrochip.com, describes our design services, turnkey capabilities, IP and product portfolio. It is also the best starting point for discussing a custom ASIC requirement or a particular product with our team.

What is the best moment in your working day?

One of the most satisfying moments in engineering is seeing a chip produce the expected results in the lab. The work behind that moment can take months or years, and of course the first measurement rarely answers every question. But when a demanding design starts behaving as intended in real silicon, it makes all the detailed work worthwhile.

What keeps you energized and engaged after so many years in ASIC design?

The problems never stop being interesting. Each project combines familiar design principles with a new constraint, a new process or an application we have not tackled in quite the same way before. I also enjoy working with engineers who challenge assumptions and bring different ideas to the table. After 20 years at Pacific MicroCHIP as a company, that curiosity is still central to what we do.