System on chip having semaphore function and method for implementing semaphore function

A system on chip (SoC) comprising:

• a plurality of masters;
• an interface configured to provide communication between an external device and the plurality of masters;
• and
• a multi-master controller configured to receive requests from the plurality of masters for accessing the interface and manages the requests by scheduling each of the plurality of masters to have access to the interface for a respective operational period,
• wherein the interface uses a serial data line and a serial clock line for the communication,
• wherein the external device is shared by the plurality of masters via I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) interface protocol, and
• wherein the multi-master controller is configured to execute an atomic sequence corresponding to each of the plurality of masters.

A device comprising:

• a first master;
• a second master;
• an interface configured to provide communication between a slave and the first master and/or communication between the slave and the second master;
• and
• a controller configured to receive a first request to access the interface from the first master and a second request to access the interface from the second master, determine a first operational period for the first master and a second operational period for the second master, and schedule the first master to have access to the interface for the first operational period and the second master to have access to the interface for the second operational period,
• wherein the interface uses a serial data line and a serial clock line for the communication,
• wherein the interface is shared by the first master and the second master via I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) interface protocol.