System-on-a-chip: The facts

Designing a gadget with lots of exciting features in it is on a great demand nowadays. System-on-a-chip, simply referred to as SOC is a technique of packing or integrating all the fundamental components of a system or any electronic contraption. It's a complete gathering of all analogue, digital and frequently radio functions on a single chip. This article provides you with an overview of system-on-a-chip.

System-on-a-chip: Design

SOC and very supreme microprocessors
Differing from microcontrollers, SOC uses very supreme microprocessors supporting large random access memory and flash chips. This is looked as a boon reducing the manufacturing costs of large systems, converting them to smaller ones. Its hardware basically consists of: - A microprocessor core - Few memory blocks - Timers - Interfaces for analogue and external purpose - Power circuits Hardware and software
The hardware and software are tried to be blended in parallel. A rudimentary process in design is emulation. In that process, mapping of hardware and loading of software into memory is done on a field programmable gateway, followed by place and route phase. Finally, SOC can be fabricated in several technologies. SOC consumes less power and is designed in a way for efficient power management. VLSI
VLSI is a very large scale design and is designed for large systems. It places hundreds to thousands of components on a chip. ASIC design
ASIC design is another architecture that provides cost reduction, lower risks and high performance. Cypress
Cypress is a semiconductor corporation that supplies semiconductors with high performance, mixed-signal, and these are used in SOC to enhance its efficiency and work. PSOC
PSOC is an 8-bit microcontroller that has been constructed with built-in analogy front and back ends. PSOC oscillators operate over a range of 60 to 200 KHz, and can recognise frequencies from 20 up to 0.1 percent.

Signal system and processor types

Decoupled timing is used in SOCs to interact with quantum keepers. It provides a global quantum boundary by synchronising the time. Mixed signals
Mixed signals are recognised by FPGA, a field programmable gateway. They offer full customisation, IP protection and ease of use. These are solutions for highly flexible functions without high budget. They are due to simple GUI-based configuration and snoop-free interface. Varieties of processors
There are two varieties of processors used: Either single microprocessor chip or embedded microprocessor. Embedded microprocessor is used for portable integrated devices like cell phones, camera, automobiles and satellites. These offer on-time product delivery. Broad spectrum of software developed through imagination leads to drastic cost reductions as design becomes very small. Multi-threaded processors SOC
There are multi-threaded processors SOC where many units of processors are held together and coordinated. Generally, 32-bit embedded processors support the 16-bit instruction set.