Introduction
Every day, technology advances reshape the human life style — our living standard, our way of work and how we move through the world. Rapidly evolving technologies, including 5G and 6G, software- packed vehicles, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), and digital healthcare, endless imagination and invention across Industries. SoC have long been incorporated into electronic Devices such as tablets and mobile phones because they are compact and power efficient. Today SoC are increasingly being used in Internet of things devices and others.
Differences of a Microcontroller (MCU) and A System on Chip (SoC)
MCU: It is a CPU with provision of some memory and I/O peripherals connected with an internal bus within the device. It will also have provision of external buses to connect with other ICs or units. Fir ex I2C, SPI, UART etc. It is basically for small level embedded platforms.
SoC (System on Chip): We know that all above devices are basically ICs (Integrated Systems). If we add one CPU with a few other ICs, say Flash controller, PCIe controller, MAC , DDR Controller etc. When we put all these in a single device it is known as System on Chip.
Why SoC ?
A system-on-chip (SoC) is normally an integrated circuit (IC) that runs on a single platform and integrates an entire electronic or a device on a single chip. With the help of SoC we reduce energy wastage, cost and space occupied by large systems and, hence, power. It has made it possible to create a platform for portable devices that can be carried anywhere.
Rising demand for smart as well as power efficient devices by the consumers and exponential adoptions of IoT by various industry verticals are expected to be one of the driving factors for the players in the Semiconductor market. High initial manufacturing costs of SoC, with higher maintenance costs of these systems is one of those factors that would hinder the future growth of the system –on-chip market.
For many IoT applications, developers favour SoC solutions that support multiple radio access technologies, wireless protocols and frequency bands. This enables the SoC to collect and transmit information from machine to machine communication, building automation, location based services, wearable devices and mobile phones. Mixed – signal SoC are the largest product category with nearly 41 percent of the market.
However, more powerful SoC are seeing increased adoption for edge computing applications that require more complex data analytics. The goal is to handle as much processing as possible on the device itself, minimizing the need to move data to a remote data center or the cloud.
SoC Architecture
Every SoC chip uses a microcontroller along with various components like memories, memory controllers, and timers, reset controllers, WiFi, Bluetooth, Camera etc. to realize any electronic system. On-chip bus ARM’s Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture [AMBA] with AXI/AHB/ASB/APB protocols is used to connect all these components, called Intellectual Properties [IPs].
Generally, SoC architecture varies from product to product. For example, a smartphone SoC may have additional IPs like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-Type C, Camera, Audio, Video, Modem, Analog IPs, GPUs, DSP cores, etc. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon and Apple’s A11 are some of the prominent smart phone SoC’s.
All the above mentioned features help a chip designer in various ways when trying to create even more feature packed Smart phones, tablets, laptops and wearable devices that utilize less battery life thus, adding to the list of Top System on Chip (SoC) Technology.
A design engineer developed to integrate as many components as possible according to the application need. SoC applications cover a widespread technology market as most of the Industry sectors are getting digitized at a rapid pace.
We observe multiple fields that are affected with SoC Applications include.
- AI & IoT Devices
- Automotive
- Wearable Devices
- Embedded
- Gaming
- Smartphone
System on Chip Market Outlook 2031
- The global SoC market was valued at US$ 151.8 Bn in 2021.
- It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2022 to 2031.
- The global system on chip market is expected to reach US$ 317.8 Bn by the end of 2031.
The Consumer Electronics is expected to witness high growth in the end-use industry segment of the market owing to the penetration of smart phones. In addition to the market insights such as market value, growth rate, market segments, geographical coverage, market players, and market scenario,
Regional Outlook of Global SoC Market.
The regional outlook of the global SoC market has been divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America. The rising demand for SoC in consumer electronics, IT & Telecommunication industries. Asia pacific is expected to hold a prominent share of the global system on chip market now also.Rise in digitization, increase in penetration of IoT , advanced analytics & server performance and running investment in advanced workstations and servers using 5G technologies are augmenting the market. Latest innovations in portable electronic devices such as smart watches,smart phones, tablets and flash drivers is also a key factor boosting the system on chip market in Asia Pacific.
The Market for the system on chip is consolidated with just a few players catering to the global demand. Prominent key players operating in the global system on chip market include Infineon Technologies AG, Microchip Technology Inc., NXP Semiconductor, Renesas Electronics Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments Incorporated, ON Semiconductor, Maxim Integrated and Toshiba Corporation.
Challenges on System on Chip Design
A system-on-chip is a highly integrated microelectronic device that joins formerly separate devices into a single unified structure.. To achieve this integration, it is necessary to follow the latest advances in integrated-circuit process technology, Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools and system-level intellectual-property (IP) blocks to create high-integration system-on-chip designs.The two primary challenges of SoC design include:
- Technical restrictions of device integration and Development of a new design methodology.
- An Integration Challenge: The rapid cost-driven marketplace demands that embedded systems continue to move from separate solutions to integrated system-on-chip.
- The Challenge of SoC Design Methodology: Prior to seeking device integration, designing an SoC means adopting a design for reuse methodology.
This means developing or adopting intellectual property (IP) that can be easily integrated into different chip designs. The final benefit of this design method will be further time and money savings of at least 25 percent over designing IP from scratch each time.
In SoC design, simulation and verification are the most complex and time-consuming links it takes for about 50% to 80% of the entire chip development cycle.
All the system circuits are integrated together except those external circuits or mechanical parts that cannot be integrated, when designing an application system using SoC technology.
Globally there is no company now who presently possesses the wide array of IP blocks required to compete in the highly competitive SoC market. Therefore, Companies must outsource their IP needs, along with building their own IP library. Through this way they will have an opportunity to achieve time to market goals. Outsourcing an IP is also necessary to differentiate one SoC product from another, by adding innovative applications and functionality while achieving affordable consumer price points.
When an IP library is built, SoC vendors will then be well benefited to integrate the IP into a variety of chip designs. Well designed IP is the key to the success of SoC implementation that can be readily re-used.
In SoC design, simulation and verification are the most complex and time-consuming links in the SoC design process, accounting for about 50% to 80% of the entire chip development cycle.
SoC Testing
System on Chip (SoC) is having complex designs combining logic, memory and mixed-signal circuits in a single IC.
Main SoC Testing Challenges:
- Each and every Embedded cores are tested as a part of the system
- Due to the absence of physical access to the core peripheries, electronic access mechanism required
- SoC test is a single composite test including individual
- core, and UDL (User- Defined Logic) test and test scheduling.
The volume of test data for core based SoC Designs is very high. It’s a very complex and time consuming process. Even now new techniques are required to reduce testing time, test cost, and the memory requirements of the automatic test equipment (ATE).
Conclusion:
Being a small integrated chip that contains all the needed factors and circuits of a particular system, Complex Architecture, costly and time consuming testing System on Chip (SoC) is the breakthrough invention in the field of electronics that changes the way of human life, reduces digital device size with more functions and makes us more digitized.
