System-on-chip

A system on a chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) is an integrated circuit (commonly called a "chip") that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single substrate. SoCs are very common in the mobile computing market because of their low power-consumption. A typical application is in the area of embedded systems.

The contrast with a microcontroller, SoC integrates microcontroller (or microprocessor) with advanced peripherals like graphics processing unit (GPU), Wi-Fi module or coprocessor.

One can say that the SoC is for microcontroller what microcontroller is for processors, if we accept the definition of a microcontroller as a system that integrates a microprocessor with peripheral circuits and memory. As long as we remember that the SoC does not necessarily contain built-in memory. In general, we can distinguish three types of SoC. SoC built around a microcontroller, SoC built around a microprocessor (this type can be found in mobile phones) and specialized SoC designed for specific applications do not fit into the above two categories. A separate category may be Programmable SoC (PSoC), part of elements is not permanently defined and can be programmable in a manner analogous to the FPGA or CPLD.

When it is not feasible to construct a SoC for a particular application, an alternative is a system in package (SiP) comprising a number of chips in a single package. In large volumes, SoC is believed to be more cost-effective than SiP since it increases the yield of the fabrication and because its packaging is simpler.

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