offchip

Off-chip refers to components, data, or signals that reside outside a single integrated circuit die or chip package. It is used to distinguish elements located on a semiconductor chip from those that are mounted on a separate chip, module, or on the surrounding printed circuit board. Off-chip connections typically link through external pins, sockets, or high-speed buses.

Common examples include memory that sits on separate DRAM or flash dies, external peripheral devices connected via interfaces such as PCIe, USB, SATA, or Ethernet, and sensors or controllers housed on other chips. In many systems, a processor or SoC contains core logic on-chip, while memory and I/O devices are accessed off-chip.

Access to off-chip components influences performance and power characteristics. Off-chip memory and I/O usually incur higher latency and potentially lower peak bandwidth compared with on-chip resources. Designers mitigate these effects with memory controllers, buffering, specialized interfaces, and standardized buses to manage communication with off-chip devices. The choice between off-chip and on-chip solutions depends on factors such as capacity, cost, heat dissipation, manufacturing yield, and system complexity.

Advances in system architecture have blurred boundaries between on-chip and off-chip. Techniques such as multi-die packages, chiplets, and high-speed interconnects enable tighter integration of off-chip components while maintaining modularity. Nonetheless, the term off-chip remains a useful description of components or data located outside a single die or package, external to the primary silicon flow.