Debugging Embedded and Real-Time Systems

8: Systems on a chip

Abstract

This chapter examines embedded systems built entirely within one chip, which is typically a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The primary objective of the chapter is to examine the architecture of FPGAs and the tools that enable a designer to find and fix design problems within the hardware or software, or both.

Keywords

SoC; FPGA; Tilera; Logic analyzer; Xilinx; MicroBlaze; Terasic; Stratix; Agilex; Lauterbach

Introduction

When we refer to a system on a chip (SoC) or a system on silicon (SoS), we are simply acknowledging that when you have the ability to place one or more CPU cores on a silicon die and also place RAM, nonvolatile memory, peripheral devices, etc., on that same die, you’ve built a system. ...