Introduction to ARM Processor & its Versions

ARM Processors


Overview


  • ARM: Advanced RISC Machine (A)
  • Company: ARM Ltd
  • Founded in: November 1990
  • Company HQ: Cambridge, UK
  • Design Center: Cambridge 
  • Sales & Support: All over the world
  • Best known for: Various range of processor cores designs
  • Used in:
    • high end applications involving complex computation
    • Hand held devices 
    • Robotics
    • Automation system
    • Consumer electronics
  • Website: www.arm.com

Features


  • High performance, low power, small in size (ideal for embedded sys)     
  • Large Register File, Small instruction set, Load-Store instructions
  • Fixed length instructions, Conditional execution of instructions
  • High code density, most instructions executable in single cycle
  • 32-bit in-line barrel shifter, built-in circuit for hardware debugging
  • DSP enhanced instructions, Jazelle (Java byte code extn. 3rd state)
  • TrustZone (SoC approach to security)

Applications


  • Hard Disk Drives
  • Printers 
  • Tele parking
  • Utility Motors 
  • Digital Sensors
  • Smart Meters
  • Digital exercise Machine
  • Energy Efficient Applications
  • Gaming Devices
  • Washing Machine
  • Digital Television
  • Many more...

ARM Processor Cores

ARM ROAD MAP



ARM is so popular because it supports wide range of capability and functionality (performance). The evolution of the same is shown in above figure.

ARM7-TDMI-S


  • Was widely adopted by cell phone industries in mid 1990’s onwords.
  • Foundation for ARM’s early success.
  • Still widely available (but ARM no longer licences AMR7-TDMI).

Cortex Processors


Cortex M  Family

It is intended to use in microcontroller where cost is at premium.

Cortex R Family
  • Provides Very High performance and Throughput 
  • Precise Timing property.
  • Predictable Interrupt Latency.
  • Ideal Embedded core for deeply embedded timing critical applications.
  • eg. Engine Management system.
Cortex A Family
  • It provides scalable High Performance in applications that require platform Operating System. Ie. Linux.
  • It co-operates Memory Management system.
  • Extended instruction set.
  • Supports Multimedia Processing.
  • All processors are available in multi-core designs
  • It balances performance & power consumption in real time.

Development of the ARM Architecture

ARM versions



 

V4T

V5TE

V6

V7

Half word & signed Half word byte support

Improved ARM/Thumb

Single Instruction Multiple Data

Thumb-2

System mode

Interworking

Multi-processing

NEON

Thumb instruction set

Arithmetic saturation

V6 memory architecture

Trust Zone

 

DSP MLA instructions

Unaligned data support

Virtualization

ARM7TDMI-S

ARM926EJ-S

ARM1136J(F)-S

Architecture profiles:

V7-A (Application)

V7-R(Read time)

V7-M(Microcontroller)

ARM Nomenclature


A R M {x}{ y}{ z} T D M I E J F S (Example: ARM7-TDMI-S)
ARMAdvanced RISC Machine
xSeries
yMMU ( No. of Memory Management units present)
zCache Memory ( in terms of KB)
TThumb instructions Support
DDebugger ( Debugging via JTAG interface)
MMultiplier
IIn-Circuit Emulator (ICE) macrocell
EEnhanced Instructions for DSP related applications
JJazelle instructions support for JAVA Codes execution
FFloating-point unit
SSynthesizable version

Eg. ARM7TDMI
      ARM926EJ-S
      ARM1136J(F)-S 

References


  • ARM website www.arm.com
  • Created, Edited, Developed and Notes by Prof Sujit Wagh, Sinhgad's SKNCOE, Vadgaon Bk, Pune
  • WikiNote Foundation

Last modified: Thursday, 19 September 2019, 1:24 PM