It is an ASIC. > A gate array is an approach to the design and manufacture of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) using a prefabricated chip with

It is an ASIC. > A gate array is an approach to the design and manufacture of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) using a prefabricated chip with components that are later interconnected into logic devices (e.g. NAND gates, flip-flops, etc.) according to a custom order by adding metal interconnect layers in the factory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_array https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_array PLA's job is simple: it basically contains a lot of combinational logic, transforming some inputs to some outputs. It generates a CS output based on a memory address and bus signals, it's just an address decoder, you can build the decoder using a large number of logic gates, but it gets messy and expensive. You can build a full-custom ASIC for it, but it's expensive and unnecessary. The point of PLA is allowing one to create a custom logic circuit to replace combinational logic by burning the logic on a general template, it was the right tool for the job. Even today, modern equivalents of PLAs are still used. Some companies provide FPGA-to-ASIC conversion service using mask-programmable array, it allows you to burn your FPGA design to the silicon for a moderate performance boost, without the complication of ASIC redesign.