But what do these categories mean in practice? Below is an overview of each type, the roles they play, and the types of chips commonly found within them.
Logic chips
Logic chips carry out instructions and manage the flow of information within electronic systems. These are responsible for computation, decision-making, and control. Logic chips are often seen as the ‘brains’ of a system.
Within the logic category are:
Specialised logic chips
These chips are optimised to handle specific computational workloads.
- CPUs (central processing units) handle general-purpose processing. While flexible in function, modern CPUs are highly tuned for instruction execution, control flow, and arithmetic logic. They are used in systems ranging from microcontrollers to high-performance computing
- GPUs (graphics processing units) are optimised for highly parallel tasks. While originally developed for graphics rendering, they are now widely used in scientific computing, AI inference, and other workloads involving matrix operations
- NPUs (neural processing units) are hardware accelerators optimised for machine learning workloads, especially deep neural networks. These offload tasks such as image classification or speech recognition from the main processor
- Microcontrollers are compact chips that combine a processor core with memory and peripheral interfaces. Used in embedded systems, they control everything from sensors and actuators to user interfaces in applications such as automotive, industrial automation, and consumer electronics
Programmable logic devices (PLDs)
Unlike fixed-function logic chips, PLDs allow users to configure their logic post-manufacture.
The most common example is the FPGA (field-programmable gate array), used for prototyping, custom hardware acceleration, and applications that benefit from in-field reconfiguration. FPGAs are widely used in communications, aerospace, and defence, among others.
Memory chips
Memory chips are designed to store data – either temporarily during operation or persistently after power-off. They can be grouped by volatility.
Volatile memory These require continuous power to retain data.
- DRAM (dynamic RAM (random access memory)) is used for main system memory. It is dense and cost-effective, but must be continually refreshed
- SRAM (static RAM (random access memory)) is faster and does not need refreshing, which makes this suitable for cache memory close to the processor
Non-volatile memory These retain data without power and are used for firmware, storage, or configuration data.
- Flash memory is widely used in SSDs, memory cards, and embedded storage. It allows repeated erase-write cycles
- Other forms include ROM (read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), and more recently, emerging technologies like MRAM (magnetoresistive random-access memory), which offer improved endurance and speed in niche applications
Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)
ASICs are chips custom-designed for a particular task or product. Unlike general-purpose processors, they contain only the logic required for their specific function, which can deliver performance and power advantages. One example is a chip in a barcode scanner, built specifically for image capture and decoding.
ASICs are common in networking, automotive control systems, image processing, and financial transaction processing. For example, a video encoder ASIC in a camera can handle compression far more efficiently than a general CPU.
Designs range from fully custom (where each gate is placed manually) to semi-custom approaches using standard cells or configurable logic blocks. While development costs are high, ASICs are often justified by volume production or the need for power and speed optimisation
System-on-chip (SoC)
A system-on-chip (SoC) integrates most or all components of a computer system onto a single piece of silicon. Typically, this includes:
- CPU core(s)
- On-chip memory
- Input/output controllers
- Often a GPU, DSP, or radio interfaces
SoCs are common in smartphones, tablets, embedded systems, and increasingly in automotive and industrial Edge applications. By combining all components into a single package, SoCs reduce size and power consumption, while improving integration and performance for specific workloads.
Some SoCs are built around a microcontroller core and used for basic sensing and control tasks. Others – such as application processors – are capable of running full operating systems and supporting multimedia, connectivity, and AI workloads.
So there you have it. Microchips may vary in architecture and purpose, but most fall into one of four functional groups:
- Logic chips: handle processing, control, and decision-making
- Memory chips: store data for active use or long-term retention
- ASICs: optimised for a fixed function, often in high-volume or performance-sensitive use cases
- SoCs: combine multiple functions onto one chip for compact, efficient design
Understanding these distinctions is key to selecting the right solution when designing or analysing modern electronic systems.
