Unit - III
Introduction to ARM
Reference:
Andrew N. Sloss,, Dominic Symes, Chris Wright, ARM System Developer’s Guide: Designing
and Optimizing System Software, Elsevier Inc., 2004.
Microprocessors vs. Microcontrollers
General Purpose Microprocessors Microcontrollers (MCUs)
General Microcontroller
I/O Serial
Purpose RAM ROM Timer
Port Port RAM ROM
I/O
Timer
Serial
Micropro Port Port
CPU
cessor
(CPU) Buses Buses
RISC DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
• RISC is a design philosophy aimed at delivering simple but powerful
instructions that execute within a single cycle at a high clock speed
• RISC philosophy is implemented with four major design rules
• Instructions — RISC processors have a reduced number of instruction
classes. These classes provide simple operations that can each execute in a
single cycle
• Pipelines — The processing of instructions is broken down into smaller
units that can be executed in parallel by pipelines
• Registers — RISC machines have a large general-purpose register set. Any
register can contain either data or an address
• Load-store architecture — The processor operates on data held in registers.
Separate load and store instructions transfer data between the register
bank and external memory
Background of ARM
• ARM was formed in 1990 as Advanced RISC Machines Ltd., a joint venture
of Apple Computer, Acorn Computer Group, and VLSI Technology
• Unlike many semiconductor companies, ARM does not manufacture
processors or sell the chips directly
• ARM licenses the processor designs to business partners
• In 1991, ARM introduced the ARM6 processor family, and VLSI became the
initial licensee
• Subsequently, additional companies, including Texas Instruments, NEC,
Sharp, and ST Microelectronics, licensed the ARM processor designs
• Based on the ARM low-cost and power-efficient
power processor designs, these
partners create their processors, microcontrollers, and system-on-chip
solutions.
• This business model is commonly called intellectual property (IP) licensing.
Arm MCUs of Different Companies
The same CPU and Assembly Language
Different Peripherals
ARM DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
• ARM processor has been specifically designed to be small to reduce power
consumption and extend battery operation
• Single-chip solution, the smaller the area used by the embedded processor,
more available space for specialized peripherals.
peripherals
• High code density
• Incorporated hardware debug technology
• ARM core is not a pure RISC architecture because instruction set differs
from the pure RISC
• Variable cycle execution for certain instructions
• Inline barrel shifter leading to more complex instructions
• Thumb 16-bit instruction set
• Enhanced instructions (DSP Functions)