An SoC stands for System on Chip. It is a microchip on which the entire system resides, i.e., all components such as transistors, peripherals etc are integrated on a single chip.
Advantages of an SoC
An SoC consumes less power. Usually 90% of power consumption is in data and bus address cabling. Since all the components are on the same chip and internally connected, and their size is also very small, the power consumption is hugely decreased.
A smaller size means it is lightweight and of small size.
Overall, the cost of an SoC is small due to advancements in VLSI technology. As mentioned in the first point, cabling is not much required and so the cost of cabling is conserved.
An SoC provides greater design security at hardware and firmware levels.
An SoC provides faster execution due to high speed processor and memory.
Disadvantages of an SoC
Initial cost of design and development is very high. If the number of SoCs is small, the cost per SoC will be very high.
Even a single transistor or system damage may prove to be very costly as the complete board has to be replaced, and its servicing is very expensive.
Integrating all systems on single chip increases complexity.
It is not suitable for power-intensive applications.
Friday, 23 September 2016
