ESC views SOC design as a significant milestone in the field of embedded systems and has a corporate goal to become a recognized provider and developer of such systems.

With the complex requirements required in the development of a product, combined with the increasing complexity of today’s electronics components, new methods and techniques are needed to successfully complete a complicated state-of-the-art-design. project  Tools such as High level Design Languages (HDL) for the hardware, UML Modeling languages and Open Source components for software design have made possible developing today's the complicated systems.

Electronic components have reached a level of complexity, integration and performance far beyond the simple integrated circuits produced in the past.  Today’s components are truly systems on a chip.  It is necessary to use all the available design aids in order to successfully finish a modern day project.

The combination of the growth in size and complexity of programmable logic array devices combined with the increased capability of the development tools has led to the possibility of defining a complete system and placing that design in the logic array.  At a minimum, these systems include a CPU, memory interface, interrupt capabilities, several commonly used peripherals and the ability to add custom logic.

Using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), we can develop custom components or license available Intellectual Property (IP) in both the hardware and software aspects of the design.  We have successfully completed several designs using the Altera NIOS II processor.  These systems also include sophisticated digital techniques for filtering and managing the data.

Background:

The initial implementations of microprocessors were not much more than the raw CPU in a chip.  The clock driver, address driver, data bus drivers and peripherals were all off the IC.  Starting with the IMP16 from National Semiconductor (a version of a popular Data General minicomputer). Over the past 35 years we have designed and developed embedded systems using these devices.  Typically as a new device or technique becomes available we are a rapid adopter and lead the industry in product introductions. 

We have observed the devices and tools change from the first microprocessors to the complete computers on a chip to systems on a chip and now to systems that the user can define on a chip.  We have matched our capabilities and resources with the industry offerings and customer requirements to provide the necessary services.

Capabilities:

We offer SOC design for Altera NIOS and Lattice Mico8/32 FPGAs and SOC solutions.  We have the test and measurement equipment to support the design and analysis.  We have partnered with PCB design houses and Contract Manufactures to support your prototype and production requirements.

Check in the Articles and Project pages for updates on our more recent articles and designs.  Contact us to find out how ESC can help you succeed in the SOC design arena.