On-Chip Communication Architectures

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Digital electronic devices such as mobile phones, video game consoles, and net-

work routers typically contain one or more electronic (integrated circuit) chips

that are composed of several components such as processors, dedicated hard-

ware engines and memory, and are referred to as system-on-chip (SoC). These SoC

designs are rapidly becoming more complex, in order to handle the ever increas-

ing complexity of applications, fueled by the onset of the digital convergence era.

Continuing improvements in process technology have allowed the integration of

components previously connected at the board level onto a single chip, which

further adds to the complexity.

The components on a SoC are connected together by an on-chip communica-

tion architecture ...