System-on-a-Chip (SoC) technology, which has evolved in recent years, is
developed from different devices. A processor, several memory and
peripheral components are located on a single chip to form today's
high-performance SoCs with hundreds of IP blocks. IP cores are validated
design blocks used as part of complex digital designs. Those designs are
utilizing a hardware description language like VHDL or Verilog. In this
way, time and cost of launching the product are reduced. Thanks to SoC,
the features of computers were able to be reduced to the miniature
level. Microcontrollers have the features of computer systems on a
single chip. They are used to collect, process, and manipulate data in
complex projects. The complexity of microcontrollers has increased to
provide better performance and flexibility to meet customer
requirements. However, it must be able to adapt to operational changes.
The hardware of a microcontroller can not be changed afterward. If
subsequent changes are nevertheless necessary, these are associated with
high additional costs. Reconfigurable devices such as FPGAs can
reconfigure the hardware to design, develop, and deploy high-performance
digital systems. With the power of a SoC combined with the flexibility
of an FPGA, the MC8051 IP Core proves to be a great alternative to
purely microcontroller-based systems.
