SoCs

SoCs, or system-on-a-chip, refer to integrated circuits that place the main components of a computer or electronic system onto a single semiconductor die. An SoC typically combines one or more CPU cores, a graphics processing unit (GPU), digital signal processors (DSPs), memory interfaces and caches, specialized accelerators (such as an image signal processor or neural processing unit), security modules, and a range of peripherals and I/O controllers (USB, PCIe, Ethernet, display pipelines, video encoders/decoders), along with power-management circuitry. The exact composition varies by application and target device.

SoCs are widely used in mobile devices, embedded systems, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), and increasingly automotive electronics. They offer higher performance with lower power consumption and smaller physical size by integrating many functions into a single chip, reducing inter-chip communication latency and board complexity.

An SoC is typically contrasted with a microcontroller (MCU), which combines limited processing power and peripherals for simpler tasks, and with a system in package (SiP), which places multiple separate chips in a single package rather than integrating all components on one die.

Manufacturing and design: SoCs are designed by device makers or semiconductor vendors and fabricated by dedicated foundries on advanced process nodes. They are often multi-core and may be packaged as a single die or as a multi-die configuration within one package. Major markets include consumer electronics and mobile devices, with vendors such as Apple, Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, Nvidia, and Broadcom. Foundries like TSMC and Samsung Foundry produce the wafers.

Advantages include high integration, power efficiency, and compact form factor; challenges encompass design complexity, high development costs, heat management, manufacturing yield, and software or ecosystem considerations.