Systems on a Chip – SoC Integrated Circuit
Think of a traditional PC motherboard. It is packed with components like a CPU, graphics card, RAM, and sound card. Now, imagine shrinking that entire system onto a single silicon wafer the size of a fingernail. That is a System on a Chip (SoC) .
IC-Mart Your Trusted Source for Systems on a Chip – SoC Chips(from leading manufacturers)
Major SoC Manufacturers and Typical Models
1. AMD (Xilinx) — The Leader in SoC FPGA
Series Typical Models Main Applications Versal ACAP VM1102, VP1502 AI Acceleration, Data Centers, 5G Zynq UltraScale+ XCZU3EG, XCZU7EV Industrial Vision, Autonomous Driving, High-performance Embedded Computing Zynq-7000 XC7Z010, XC7Z020 Robotics, Medical Imaging, Entry-level SoC FPGA
2. Intel (Altera) — A Key Player in SoC FPGA
Series Typical Models Main Applications Agilex 7 / 9 AGF014, AGM039 Cloud Computing, High-performance Networking, Aerospace & Defense Stratix 10 SoC 1SX280, 1SX165 Big Data Processing, Radar Signal Processing Cyclone V SoC 5CSEBA2, 5CSXFC6 Industrial Gateways, HMI Panels, Embedded Systems
3. Texas Instruments (TI) — The All-Rounder
Series Typical Models Main Applications Sitara AM625, AM3358 Industrial Control, Multi-functional Gateways, HMI MSP430 Metering MSP430FR6047, FE427 Smart Ultrasonic Water/Gas Meters, Electricity Metering SimpleLink (Wireless) CC2652R, CC1352P Bluetooth, Zigbee, Sub-GHz IoT Connectivity
4. NXP — The Industrial & Automotive Giant
Series Typical Models Main Applications i.MX 8 / 9 Series i.MX 8M Plus, i.MX 93 Edge AI, Smart Home, High-end Industrial Control i.MX 6 Series i.MX 6SoloX, 6Quad Automotive Dashboards, Medical Devices, POS Terminals S32G Series S32G274A Vehicle Network Processors, High-performance Safety Control
5. STMicroelectronics (ST) — The Embedded Ecosystem King
Series Typical Models Main Applications STM32MP1 / MP2 STM32MP157, STM32MP255 Industry 4.0, Linux Control Terminals, Smart Retail STM32WB / WBA STM32WB55, STM32WBA52 Bluetooth 5.x Wearables, Matter Smart Hardware STM32WL STM32WL55 Long-range LoRa Wireless Sensors
6. Analog Devices (ADI) — The Metering Expert
Series Typical Models Main Applications ADE Metering ADE9153A, ADE9000 Smart Meters, Power Quality Monitoring MAX Metering (Maxim) MAX78000 (AI SoC) Ultra-low Power Edge AI, Battery Management Metering
7. Nordic & Silicon Labs — Wireless Connectivity Specialists
Nordic Semiconductor: Typical models include nRF52840 (BLE industry standard), nRF5340 (Dual-core wireless), and nRF9160 (Low-power LTE-M/NB-IoT).Silicon Labs: Typical models include EFR32MG21 (Mighty Gecko, Multi-protocol) and EFR32BG22 (Blue Gecko, Ultra-low power Bluetooth).
8. Microchip — Cost-Effective Industrial SoC
SoC FPGA: PolarFire SoC (MPFS250T) — The industry’s first RISC-V based hard-core SoC FPGA.Metering: PIC24F / ATM90E series metering front-ends.
Major Chinese SoC Manufacturers and Typical Models
1. General-Purpose Application Processors
These chips typically run Linux or Android. They are used in tablets, smart retail, industrial HMI, and OTT boxes.
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases Rockchip RK3588, RK3568, RK3399 High-end AIoT, Industrial Tablets, Edge Computing Allwinner H618, A133, T507-H Smart Home, Set-top Boxes, Car Aftermarket, Education Tablets Amlogic A311D2, S905 Series, T982 Smart TV, High-end 8K Boxes, AI Vision Terminals HiSilicon Honghu 900, Kirin Series Smart TVs, Mobile Terminals, High-end Displays
2. Mobile Communication & Baseband SoC
Primarily used for smartphones, wearables, and 4G/5G modules.
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases UNISOC T820, T760, T616 5G/4G Phones, Tablets, Industrial IoT Modules HiSilicon Kirin 9000S / 9010 Smartphones (Mate/Pura Series), High-speed Communication ASR ASR1601, ASR3603 Cellular IoT (Cat.1/Cat.4), Wearable Devices
3. Smart Driving & Automotive SoC
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases Horizon Robotics Journey 6, Journey 5 L2/L4 Autonomous Driving, Vision Perception SemiDrive X9U, G9X, V9 Smart Cockpit, Central Gateway, Autonomous Driving Black Sesame Huashan A1000, Wudang C1200 High-compute Autonomous Driving, Cross-domain Computing SiEngine DragonHawk One (SE1000) 7nm Grade Smart Cockpit AutoChips AC8015, AC8257 Entry/Mid-range In-vehicle Infotainment (IVI)
4. Smart Security & Vision SoC
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases SigmaStar SSC9381, SSC338G Professional IPC, Dash Cams, Smart Doorbells Fullhan FH8856, FH8858V200 Network Cameras (IPC), Automotive Camera Processing Ingenic T40, T41, T31 Low-power Battery Cameras, AI Vision Analysis Rockchip RV1126, RV1109 Smart Cameras, Facial Recognition Terminals
5. Wireless Connectivity & IoT SoC
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases Espressif ESP32-S3, ESP32-C6 Wi-Fi + BLE, Matter Smart Home, Open-source Hardware Telink TLSR9 Series, TLSR825x Bluetooth Mesh, ESL, Remote Controls, Wearables Bestechnic BES2700, BES2500 TWS Earphones, Smart Audio, Wearable Audio SoC Beken BK7231, BK3633 Low-power Wi-Fi, Wireless Peripherals
6. Metering & Industrial SoC
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases FMSH FM33 Series (e.g., FM33A0xx) Smart Meters, Ultra-low Power Industrial Control Juquan ATT70xx, ATT7051 Single/Three-phase Energy Metering ReignMicro RN82xx, RN83xx Power Monitoring, EV Charging Station Metering
7. SoC FPGA
Manufacturer Typical Models Use Cases Pango PGL22G (Logos Series) Communication Interface, Industrial Image Processing FMSH Qinglong Series (JFM7K325) Aerospace/Industrial Signal Processing Anlogic EF2 Series, PH1 Series Base Stations, Video Surveillance, Servo Drives
An SoC integrates several functional modules on one chip:
CPU: Handles general logic and instruction execution.GPU: Manages graphics rendering and UI display.Memory: Often stacked using PoP (Package on Package) technology.RF: Integrates Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G, or other radio frequencies.DSP/ISP: Processes audio or image signals from cameras.NPU: Dedicated to AI and neural network algorithms.Interface Controllers: Manages USB, HDMI, UART, and other data transfers.
Three Core Advantages of SoC
Extreme Miniaturization: Ideal for space-constrained devices like smartphones and smartwatches.Ultra-low Power: Short signal travel distances inside the chip reduce energy consumption.Efficiency & Lower Cost: Mass production makes a single SoC cheaper than buying and assembling separate components.
Typical Use Cases
Consumer Electronics: Smartphones (Apple A-series), wearables (Apple Watch, TWS earphones).Automotive: Smart cockpits (navigation/media) and ADAS (autonomous driving computing).Industrial IoT: Smart gateways and HMI panels running Linux.Security: Network cameras (IPC) with built-in video compression.Smart Home: Smart speakers and robot vacuums using voice recognition or LiDAR algorithms.
Four Core Classifications of SoC
SoC FPGA: Combines FPGA logic with a hard processor system (usually ARM). Supports both hardware acceleration and software development.Metering SoC: Features high-performance ADCs and metering engines for water, gas, and power monitoring.Application Processors: High-compute chips (GHz level) that run full OSs like Linux or Android.Wireless/RF SoC: Integrates the radio transceiver, processor, and memory stack for protocols like Bluetooth, Zigbee, or Wi-Fi.
