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ARM Microcontroller: Acorn Apple Vlsi

The document discusses the development and architecture of ARM microcontrollers, which are based on Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) principles. It highlights the evolution of ARM processors, their low power consumption, and various types such as Cortex-M, Cortex-A, and Cortex-R, each designed for specific applications. Additionally, it compares different ARM architectures, detailing their features, performance, and memory management capabilities.

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18 views5 pages

ARM Microcontroller: Acorn Apple Vlsi

The document discusses the development and architecture of ARM microcontrollers, which are based on Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) principles. It highlights the evolution of ARM processors, their low power consumption, and various types such as Cortex-M, Cortex-A, and Cortex-R, each designed for specific applications. Additionally, it compares different ARM architectures, detailing their features, performance, and memory management capabilities.

Uploaded by

FoFi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ARM Microcontroller

Back in 1983. There was a company called Acorn computers that was a first to develop and evolve such
ideas “Microcontrollers”. Now these ideas were started to develop the architectural ideas based on the
Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC), this concept of microprocessor architecture type that utilizes a
small, highly-optimized set of instructions rather than the highly-specialized set of instructions typically
found in other architectures.

Initially this company ARM was jointly formed, and owned by Acorn which was the initiator, and Apple
and there was another company called VLSI.

This Apple iPhone all of us are familiar with and some of the very popular Nokia phones. They all have
the ARM11 processor inside them. However, the application you decide how much power you need from
the processor. The very simple application you do not need a processor as powerful such as ARM. All you
can use 8-bit PIC microcontrollers, which are very cheap, those are very simple 8-bit processors can we
used them.

But ARM processors are typically 32 bit and above. So, use the ARM processor need reasonably powerful
computation capability that make a heart of embedded system.

ARM Microcontroller design


Some very interesting features, are First thing is that, its ARM is essentially a reduced instruction set
computer RISC based architecture. The RISC architecture pretty powerful and conventional or
contemporary microcontrollers that had primitive kind of designs like 8051-microcontrollers. This
controller was a very popular microcontroller no doubt, but have a primitive architectural design in
which, cannot enhancement or advanced features.

ARM processor is existed and the most important thing is that maintain compatibility, which is very
important to generate new instructions-set that added of older instructions are also carried through;
such that a program which was developed within older generation would run pretty well. Therefore, the
design architecture is taken place as:
Functionality of microcontroller are compared based on preference and how much memory would be
required to implement. Such an example that implements an application used a conventional ARM
architecture which requiring 100 kilobytes, but the used ARM have only 120 kilobytes. Therefore, a high
code density is far enough to build the certain application. Otherwise, the limit of built-in memory is not
compatible with application.
There is other problem in which made slower performances that because of low-cost design on-chip
memory, finally the size of designed must be accommodate to the recommendation peripherals that are
need to desired application.

Type ARM Microcontroller


Another thing is that this ARM processors they have very low power consumption and of
course, reasonably good performance. needless low power consumption. Benefits include integrated
security, high performance and energy efficiency. Arm CPU architecture is a foundation for computing
everywhere.

Cortex-M: For machine learning and DSP Arm Cortex-M CPU Architecture
Cortex-A: Best-in-class efficient performance Arm Cortex-A CPU Architecture
Cortex-R: Low latency and high-performance Arm Cortex-R CPU Architecture
CPU and Processor: Processor Intellectual Property Arm CPU and Processor Technology

Popular ARM Architecture


The popular ARM architecture is showing below, each one has different features that depending on
pipeline stages, which include fetch, decode, execute. Although, the memory size and power
consumptions.

A high power is not required this ARM 7, and is a very popular architecture that used with mobile phone.

However, ARM 9 is first thing that 5 stages of pipeline; fetch, decode, execute, memory, and write. In
addition, used the new concept of cache memory, to separate between (instruction cache) and (data
cache), like a von Neumann architecture.
Towards Harvard architecture can be developed talking place to produce the ARM 10; the main
difference was the pipeline that give further enhanced by adding another stage called issue. This way the
basic architecture started evolving making the processor more powerful and faster by adding novel
architectural concepts.
ARM family comparison that explores main differences between versions, this table gives a quick
comparison among 4 ARM family members ARM 7, 9, 10 and 11. The clock frequency that provides the
speed of a processor is determined by the clock frequencies are increasing, the processors are becoming
faster in each time frequency.

The power consumption is also a measure of the clock frequency, faster clock more power consumption.
Estimate the power consumption with respect to the clock frequency, every microcontroller has a range
of permissible clock frequencies.

ARM based on RISC architecture

ARM Feature
One of classical example is multiple register and load/store memory, normally the load a value from
memory into one register; in other hands, the ARM processor allows to specify in such a way that the
value loaded into 4 registers. Therefore need 4 clock cycle to write into those 4 registers, multiple cycles,
such multiple data.
Barrel shifter which is very common concept. The barrel shifter is a hardware that allows multiple bit
shifting in very efficiently at a single cycle. ARM architecture and there are many instructions which
directly utilize this barrel shifting capability.
Some of the differences are depend on certain instructions that require a variable number of clock cycles
for execution. While the RISC, all instructions should be exhibited executed in a single clock cycle, but in
ARM some of instructions can be more complex, therefore require multiple clocks.
Another feature is that in ARM; this feature is dealing with instruction-set that can be configured as
thumb mode. This mode means thumb is a subset of the of ARM instructions, which works in 16-bit
mode. Normally ARM processor is 32-bit, nonetheless there may be many applications where less power,
therefor a thumb instruction set essential 16-bit instruction set. Further that lead to a shortening of total
code size and less code density.

Neumann and Harvard Based on ARM Architecture


The ARM 7 even older processors were based on von Neumann, there was a single memory later on
ARM 9 processors which have 2 separate memory, instruction memory and data memory, however
include a cache for instruction and a data. Another feature that no any separate between memory and
input/ output, in which depending memory mapped IO. The total memory area, is partial into part that
reserved for IO devices.

Note: The Advanced High-performance Bus (AHB) is used to connect components that need higher
bandwidth. These could be internal memory or an external memory interface, DMA etc.

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