Hardware & Implementation SoC

SoC

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System-on-Chip -- a single integrated circuit containing processor, memory, BLE radio, and peripherals.

    


    
    
    

      다른 명칭:
      
      System-on-Chip
      
      System on Chip
      
    

    
  


  




  
  

    
SoC (System-on-Chip)


A BLE SoC (System-on-Chip) integrates a processor core, RAM, flash memory, BLE radio transceiver, and peripheral interfaces onto a single piece of silicon. This integration makes BLE SoCs the preferred building block for wireless IoT products -- from fitness trackers and medical sensors to smart home devices and industrial monitors.


Architecture


A typical BLE SoC contains:


    

  • Application processor: ARM Cortex-M0/M4/M33 core running application firmware and BLE host stack
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  • Radio subsystem: 2.4 GHz transceiver, Link Layer controller, and modem
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  • Memory: 256 KB - 2 MB flash, 64 KB - 512 KB RAM (varies by chip)
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  • Peripherals: GPIO, SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, PWM, timers, DCDC Converter
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  • Security: Hardware AES-128, random number generator, secure key storage (some chips)
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Single-Chip vs Dual-Core


Most BLE SoCs use a single-core design where the application code and BLE stack share the same processor. The nRF5340 pioneered a dual-core architecture: a Cortex-M33 application core handles user logic while a dedicated Cortex-M33 network core runs the BLE controller. This isolation improves real-time performance and enables LE Audio processing without competing for CPU time.


Key Selection Criteria


When choosing a BLE SoC for a project, engineers evaluate:


    

  • BLE version: 5.0, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, or 6.0 determines available features (DLE, Direction Finding, Channel Sounding)
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  • TX Power range: -20 to +8 dBm (standard) or up to +20 dBm (with PA)
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  • Current consumption: Sleep current (sub-uA) and peak TX/RX current
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  • Flash/RAM: Determines firmware complexity capacity
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  • SDK ecosystem: Quality of documentation, examples, and community support
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  • Certifications: Pre-certified Modules vs raw SoC requiring custom certification
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The BLE SoC market is dominated by Nordic Semiconductor (nRF series), Espressif (ESP32), Texas Instruments (CC26xx), Dialog Semiconductor (DA14xxx), and Silicon Labs (EFR32). Each family offers different tradeoffs between power consumption, processing capability, radio performance, and cost.

  

  

  
  
  




  
  
Related Terms

  

  

    
    Module
    
    SDK
    
  





  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  

    
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Our glossary covers 90+ BLE technical terms organized by category. Each term includes a definition, related terms, and links to relevant chips and guides.