SoC technology integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single integrated circuit (chip). It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, even radio-frequency functions. In other words, it could, theoretically, provide an entire system on one chip. When it comes to computing, logic circuits process information, while memory circuits store information; the two are used in tandem to add "intelligence" to electronic products. Until now, the two functions have normally been provided on separate chips, adding complexity and cost. SoC technology could change this.

Currently, the technology is used in small, increasingly complex consumer electronic devices. SoC is evolving along with other technologies such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI), which can provide increased clock speeds while reducing the power consumed by a microchip.

SoC certainly offers promise. Here's how IBM [url=http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/power/library/pa-soc7/?ca=dgr-lnxw06SoCP7]sees the potential[/url]: "From a theoretical viewpoint, if one SoC features more processing throughput, more I/O bandwidth, and more volatile and non-volatile memory than another, that indicates larger-scale integration and more efficient use of integrated circuit resources. Looking forward, emergent architectures will no longer boast about raw resources such as gates, flops, and cells as they once did; rather, their selling points will be presented in terms of function, resources, performance, and overall efficiency. The right levels of resources, scalability, and reconfigurability are being recognized as more important than sheer numbers. Hardware designs that simply pack in more processor, memory, and I/O resources for software, but with less efficiency, less determinism, and poor balance are hitting limits of diminishing utility."

Theoretically, everything needed to run the computer could be contained in one chip, including the operating system, electronic functions, memory of all varieties, timers, interfaces like USB and FireWire, voltage regulators, timers, microprocessors, and basic utility software applications. The chip has all that is needed to run even detailed computer functions, according to a [url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-system-on-a-chip-soc.htm]Wisegeek examination[/url] of the technology. The result: devices that have smaller footprints than those with individual components.

The downside of SoC is that, while the shift towards system-on-chip processors will yield more powerful chips that are cheaper and consume less power, the chips will be less flexible. As [url=http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=7788]noted[/url] by Digit magazine, they can't be mixed and matched with other components in the same way that today's processors can. As a result, chipmakers like Intel will have to produce a wider range of products, each designed for a specific application or type of device.

It takes more time and money to manufacture one SOC than it does to make a large handful of traditional chips, mainly because the procedures and the materials needed are still relatively new and unfamiliar. This will most likely change as more and more chipmakers discover the utility of SOC and its possibilities.