Dynamic reconfiguration of system-on-chip devices

The system-on-chip devices represent the future of embedded design due to their specific features: integration of analogue and digital blocks along with an 8-bit or 16-bit microcontroller core. By using of such devices, the designer is not allowed to configure an entire acquisition system inside on chip (including filters, ADC's, UART's and user interface) but is allowed to dynamically re-configure the system taking into consideration the specific needs of the project. The paper presents theoretical and experimental aspects related to the dynamic re-configuration of system-on-chip devices. The "morphing" feature of such devices is implemented using writing or re-writing the configuration table on specific flash memory locations. The paper presents the detailed anatomy of the "morphing" process along with an experimental example: the "morphing" pin. The example shows how to easily change the pin's configuration (from analogue input to analogue output, or digital I/O, or even modulated output) by using simple user-friendly serial commands. The proposed design can implement a one-chip-solution of a user configurable sensor system with increased flexibility and versatility.