SoC Design

System-on-a-chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit (IC) which implements CPU, memory, accelerating unit, and some peripheral interfaces into a unique design. With the continuous improvement of integration, more and more external chips or IPs are integrated into a single chip. The performance and functions of a SoC design have become more and more powerful. This chapter introduces the basic concept of SoC and IP cores. The embedded CPUs, system bus, peripheral IP cores, interrupt controllers, and software drivers are also introduced. In addition, the methodology of hardware and software codesign is introduced for realizing a function with both software and hardware. Finally, the security enhancement technology in the SoC is introduced to enhance the ability of information security.