Soft core (synthesis)

A soft core (also called softcore) is a digital circuit that can be wholly implemented using logic synthesis. It can be implemented via different semiconductor devices containing programmable logic (e.g., ASIC, FPGA, CPLD), including both high-end and commodity variations.^[1] Many soft cores may be implemented in one FPGA.^[2] In those multi-core systems, rarely used resources can be shared between all the cores.

Examples of soft-core implementations are soft microprocessors, graphics chips like AGA or Open Graphics Project, hard disc controllers etc.

See also

• SoC (System-on-a-chip)
• PSoC (Programmable System on a Chip)
• FPGA (Field-programmable gate array)
• Reconfigurable computing
• Minimig - Example implementation of custom chips replications
• Open-source hardware
• List of open source hardware projects