what is a SOC
SoC or system on chip is the design approach of integrating the components
of an electronic system into a single chip. In the past, chips could only perform
dedicated simple functions, such as simple logic operations, decoding/
encoding operations, analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog
conversion, and so on. As time went by, more and more functions were integrated
into a single chip. This integration trend is so significant that it has
reached the point where a single chip can perform the functions of an entire
electronic system, such as an MPEG decoder, a network router, or a cellular
phone. As a result, a colorful name was created for such chips: system on
chip (SoC). SoC designs often consume less power, cost less, and are more
reliable than the multichip systems that they are designed to replace. Furthermore,
assembly cost is reduced due to the fact that there are fewer packages
in the system.
Re: what is a SOC ?
System-on-chip (SOC) is an integrated circuit that includes a processor, a bus, and other elements on a single monolithic substrate. In recent years, there have been great advancements in the speed, power, and complexity of integrated circuits, such as application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, random access memory (RAM) chips, microprocessor chips, and the like. These advancements have made possible the development of system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices. System on Chip (SOC) design is implemented in which various components, such as volatile memory systems, non-volatile memory systems, data signal processing systems, mixed signal circuits and logic circuits are each formed into units and integrated on a single chip. The primary advantages of SOC devices are lower costs, greatly decreased size, and reduced power consumption of the system. Digital systems using SOC design, such as those used in handheld digital products, has replaced bulkier and higher power consuming digital systems built on a board in a package having several chips. As technology advances, integration of various units included in a SOC design becomes increasingly complicated. An SOC device integrates into a single chip many of the components of a complex electronic system, such as a wireless receiver. SOC devices greatly reduce the size, cost, and power consumption of the system. A system on chip may include a configurable logic unit. The configurable logic unit includes a processor, interface, and a programmable logic on the same substrate. A system-on-chip is designed by stitching together multiple stand-alone VLSI designs (cores) to provide full functionality for an application.
CSE PROJECTS