Structure
A typical SoC consists of:
- A microcontroller, microprocessor or DSP core(s). Some SoCs—called multiprocessor system on chip (MPSoC)—include more than one processor core.
- Memory blocks including a selection of ROM, RAM, EEPROM and flash memory.
- Timing sources including oscillators and phase-locked loops.
- Peripherals including counter-timers, real-time timers and power-on reset generators.
- External interfaces including industry standards such as USB, FireWire, Ethernet, USART, SPI.
- Analog interfaces including ADCs and DACs.
- Voltage regulators and power management circuits.
These blocks are connected by either a proprietary or industry-standard bus such as the AMBA bus from ARM Holdings. DMA controllers route data directly between external interfaces and memory, bypassing the processor core and thereby increasing the data throughput of the SoC.
Read more about this topic: System On A Chip
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“Who says that fictions only and false hair
Become a verse? Is there in truth no beauty?
Is all good structure in a winding stair?
May no lines pass, except they do their duty
Not to a true, but painted chair?”
—George Herbert (1593–1633)
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)