Trends Emerging from SOC Technology - Term Paper Example

Trends Emerging from SOC Technology Abstract According to Wikipedia (2012), the definition of System on Chip (SOC) is “is an integrated circuit (IC) that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip.” This means that the devices are made of interconnected electronic components, such as transistors and resistors that are etched or imprinted onto a tiny slice of a semiconducting material also referred to as a chip or microchip. A microchip is “electronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of a silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit” This is according to Farlex (2012). Silicon semiconductors are used in making electronic devices such as diodes, rectifiers, transistors, and integrated circuits. Before the invention of the integrated circuit (microchip), scientists used the vacuum tube to create complex electrical circuits. When the transistor was invented in 1947, they quickly replaced the vacuum tubes as a means of creating complex circuits. The transistor still had its limitations. But in September 1958, the first integrated circuit was discovered by Jack S Kilby. Integrated circuits have developed at an extremely rapid pace since Jack Kilby's and This has helped the revolution of computers in that the silicon base semi conductors in the manufacture of components used to assembly computer and other electronic devices examples are television set, dvd’s Player and mobile phones. The earliest electronic circuits were fairly simple. They were composed of a few tubes, transformers, resistors, capacitors, and wiring and as more was learned by designers, they began to increase both the size and complexity of circuits. An example is a system on chip with multiple processors leading to technology in electronics or machines. Introduction The microchip (System on Chip) has led to the many technological innovations as it has transformed manufacturing, health-care appliances, gadgets for domestic use, and tools and machines of every description. It has led to wealth creation and employment, and it has transformed the ways in which people communicate, learn, and integrate across world. System on Chip can have billions of transistors, supporting a wide range of functions (processors/controllers application-specific modules, data storage, and mixed-signal circuits). Thanks to the ever increasing large-scale integration, more complex systems are being developed. The diagram below illustrates the increase of number of components over the years NB: X axis – Number of components Y axis - Years Design and analysis Automated System on Chip assembly techniques have rapidly emerged as the standard approach for building today’s complex System on Chip designs. These solutions are enabling design teams to boost their productivity while lowering development costs. At the same time, these advanced approaches are helping them meet the stringent time-to-market requirements in today’s competitive global economy. To design complex systems or System on chips systems, it is natural to use a divide-and conquer strategy According to Yen-Kuang Chen, S. Y. Kung (2006, p.3) the diagram below illustrates the Divide-and-conquer view of System on Chip design ANALOG DIGITAL To help to analyze and design future System on Chip, the best design to use to illustrate this is network design. According to Terry Tao Ye (2003), System on Chip can be viewed as a “ micro-network of components, where the PEs and SEs are interconnected as node components, or simply referred to as nodes.” In the above diagram, the nodes are interconnected by the micro-network that is point-to-point (P2P) or point-to-many (P2M) connection. This means multiple data flows can be communicated in a single point or multiple points. Factors that have significantly influenced System on Chip designs are; Power Consumption - As more components are integrated into a single chip, the chip consumes more power. It is therefore important not only to build a system with the highest performance, but also to deliver the performance with the lowest power consumption. Memory Bandwidth and Latency - computation speed can be increased by integrating embedded memory into the same chip, or exploiting data access localities at the algorithm or software level. Transistor Variability - transistor sizes will decrease hence increasing variability in the behavior of transistors. Result As the System on chip continues to evolve, the following are the outcome as designing system on chip; Power Efficiency – designers have been able to design a System on Chip that consumes less power. Multi-Processor System on Chip – this is system on chip that has multiple processors. According to According to Lionel TORRES, Pascal BENOIT, Gilles SASSATELLI, Michel ROBERT (2006, P.2), the diagram below illustrates the evolution of system on chip with a single processor system o chip with multiple processors According to According to Lionel TORRES,Pascal BENOIT, Gilles SASSATELLI, Michel ROBERT (2006), “MPSoCs are composed of different PEs (processors, memories, accelerators and peripherals)” Pg 3 .This technology has helped design complex systems or System on chips systems that can perform multiple tasks Example “Smartphone” – This are handheld devices such as the iPhone or the BlackBerry that can enable consumers to read e-mail, text friends, create spreadsheets and documents, watch YouTube, play video games, listen to music, take pictures, store them, get directions, and yes, also make phone calls. resulting to systems that are more efficient and less power. The diagram below illustrates how these processing elements are interconnecting Reconfigurable Logic - To create high performance, versatile platforms which provide flexibility for changing functionality after fabrication, designers start incorporating logic operations and interconnect that can be reconfigured during run time. Conclusion While the future is becoming more difficult to predict with each passing year, we should expect an accelerating pace of technological change in system on chip. System on Chip is becoming the new frontier of research that spans health sciences and intelligent health care, environmental management, smart energy management through to new innovations in man–machine interfaces, processing, and communications. Using approaches in sensing and communications, data can be managed and real-time responses activated. This scenario creates opportunities in a variety of areas and is conjectured to be the technology platform for future intelligent System on Chip systems. According to pk viswanathan (2006, P.20), the diagram below illustrates Present-day SOC design has started to employ multiple processors instead of escalating clock rates to achieve processing goals. Example of how the technology of having multiple processors has affected our live. Bio photonic sensors; they are powered and monitored remotely to observe a wide range of physiological conditions, such as, pulse rate, blood sugar, blood oxygen, blood pressure, status of internal tissues, etc., would provide important enabling capabilities for robotic microsurgery. The notion of intelligent biopsy and surgery providing health professionals with instant feedback during surgical procedures is an important challenge. In this paper we have only provided a sample of the exciting possibilities that System on Chip can offer at the confluence of the maturation of bio- and nanotechnologies in the form of intelligent biosensors, bio processing, and clinical diagnostics. There are certainly major barriers, both technical and cultural, toward effective commercialization. Effective multidisciplinary partnerships, the ability for a better approach toward technology transfer from the research to development phase, and adequate targeted funding are the three major contributory factors that are likely to enhance the probability of success of System on Chip systems during the next decade. References Farlex (2012), The Free English Dictionary: Micro Chip, Retrieved 21 April 2012 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/microchip Lionel TORRES,Pascal BENOIT, Gilles SASSATELLI, Michel ROBERT An Introduction to Multi­Core System on Chip –Trends and challenges, France: University of Montpellier 2, pk viswanathan(2006) Journal of Introduction To 21st-CenturySoc Design June 9, 2006, pp 16,20 Terry Tao Ye (2004), On-Chip Multiprocessor Communication Network Design and Analysis, Stanford University Wikipedia (2012), System on chip Retrieved 21 April 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_on_a_chip Yen-Kuang Chen, S. Y. Kung (2006) Trend and Challenge on System-on-a-Chip Designs: Divide-and-conquer view of System on Chip design, Santa Clara, CA : Princeton University Read More