On December 5, 1978, physicist Hermann Hauser and engineer Chris Curry founded the CPU Company in Cambridge, UK, primarily supplying electronic devices to the local market.In 1979, the CPU Company was renamed Acorn Computers.It is said that there was another founder named Andy Hopper.Andy Hopper was the research director at Acorn, but to consider his responsibilities at Cambridge University, he deliberately kept a low profile, leaving public appearances to the other two founders.In 1985, Roger Wilson and Steve Furber designed their first generation 32-bit, 6MHz processor, creating a computer based on the RISC instruction set, abbreviated as ARM (Acorn RISC Machine).This was the first generation ARM processor ARM1.Subsequently, an improved version, ARM2, was developed.ARM2 was used in the BBC Archimedes 305.Later, Acorn was acquired by Olivetti. On November 27, 1990, at the suggestion of Andy Hopper, Advanced RISC Machines Ltd. (ARM) was spun off to become an independent processor company. Apple invested £1.5 million, chip manufacturer VLSI invested £250,000, and Acorn contributed £1.5 million in intellectual property and 12 engineers.The company’s office was very simple, just a barn.This project later entered “ARM6”, with the first sample released in 1991, and Apple used the ARM610 based on the ARM6 architecture as the processor for their Apple Newton product.In 1994, Acorn used the ARM610 as the processor for their personal computer products.
Product Classification
ARM products can be classified according to architectures like ARMv1, ARMv2, ARMv3, ARMv4, etc.Since 1983, the ARM cores include ARM1, ARM2, ARM6, ARM7, ARM9, ARM10, ARM11, and Cortex, along with corresponding modified or enhanced versions. The later the core, the higher the initial frequency, more advanced the architecture, and more powerful the functions.
The relationship between architecture and cores is shown in the figure below (taken from Wikipedia):
The next figure shows the release dates of ARM cores:
In addition to the cores designed by ARM, there are also some cores that implement the ARM instruction set, developed independently by companies with ARM architecture licenses:
In summary, ARM processor products are divided into classic ARM processor series and the latest Cortex processor series.
Classic Processors
ARM7 Microprocessor Series:Launched in 1994, it is the most widely used 32-bit embedded processor series.0.9MIPS/MHz three-level pipeline and Von Neumann architecture.The ARM7 series includes ARM7TDMI, ARM7TDMI-S, and ARM720T with cache processor macro units.This series of processors provides the Thumb 16-bit compressed instruction set and EmbedICE software debugging method, suitable for larger SoC designs.ARM7TDMI is based on ARM architecture version V4 and is currently the low-end ARM core.ARM9 Microprocessor Series:ARM9 adopts Harvard architecture, with separate buses for instructions and data, allowing for parallel processing.In the pipeline, ARM7 has a three-stage pipeline, while ARM9 has a five-stage pipeline.Due to structural differences, ARM7’s execution efficiency is lower than that of ARM9.Processors based on the Arm9 core are a low-power, high-efficiency development platform.Widely used in various embedded products.It is mainly applied in audio technology and high-end industrial products, capable of running advanced embedded systems such as Linux and Wince, enabling interface design and creating user-friendly human-computer interaction interfaces, like some network and mobile products.ARM9E Microprocessor Series:ARM9E’s E stands for Enhance instructions, meaning enhanced DSP instructions, indicating that ARM9E is essentially an enhancement or variant of ARM9.The ARM9E series microprocessors are synthesizable processors that provide solutions for microcontrollers, DSP, and Java application systems using a single processor core, greatly reducing chip area and system complexity.The ARM9E series microprocessors offer enhanced DSP processing capabilities, making them suitable for applications that require simultaneous use of DSP and microcontrollers.ARM10E Microprocessor Series:The ARM10E series microprocessors are synthesizable processors that provide solutions for microcontrollers, DSP, and Java application systems using a single processor core, greatly reducing chip area and system complexity.The ARM9E series microprocessors provide enhanced DSP processing capabilities, making them suitable for applications that require simultaneous use of DSP and microcontrollers.The difference between ARM10E and ARM9E is that ARM10E uses Harvard architecture, has a six-stage pipeline, and can reach a maximum frequency of 325MHz, 1.35MIPS/HZ.ARM11 Microprocessor Series:Recently, ARM introduced a new generation of RISC processors, which is the first generation design implementation of ARM’s new instruction architecture – ARMv6.This series mainly includes ARM1136J, ARM1156T2, and ARM1176JZ core models, targeting different application areas.ARM11’s media processing capabilities and low power consumption characteristics make it particularly suitable for wireless and consumer electronics products;its combination of high data throughput and high performance is very suitable for network processing applications;additionally, ARM11 can meet the needs of automotive electronics applications in terms of real-time performance and floating-point processing.
Cortex Series
ARM renamed its products after the classic ARM11 to Cortex, dividing them into A, R, and M categories, aimed at serving various different markets.The Cortex series belongs to the ARMv7 architecture. Due to different application areas, the technologies adopted by the Cortex processor series based on the v7 architecture also vary. Those based on v7A are called Cortex-A series, those based on v7R are called Cortex-R series, and those based on v7M are called Cortex-M series.Application Processors:High-end processors aimed at mobile computing, smartphones, servers, and other markets.These processors run at very high clock frequencies (over 1GHz) and support memory management units (MMUs) required by complete operating systems like Linux, Android, MS Windows, and mobile operating systems.If the product you plan to develop requires running one of the above operating systems, you need to choose ARM application processors.Real-time Processors:A high-performance processor series aimed at real-time applications, such as hard disk controllers, automotive transmission systems, and wireless communication baseband control.Most real-time processors do not support MMUs, but typically have MPUs, Cache, and other memory functions designed for industrial applications.Real-time processors run at relatively high clock frequencies (e.g., 200MHz to >1GHz), with very low response latency.Although real-time processors cannot run the full versions of Linux and Windows operating systems, they support a large number of real-time operating systems (RTOS).Microcontroller Processors:Microcontroller processors are typically designed to be very small in area and highly energy-efficient.These processors usually have short pipelines and very low maximum clock frequencies (though there are processors on the market that can run above 200MHz).Additionally, the new Cortex-M processor family is designed to be very easy to use.Thus, ARM microcontroller processors are very successful and popular in the microcontroller and deep embedded systems market.
The Cortex-M processor family focuses more on the low-performance end, but these processors are still very powerful compared to many traditional processors used in microcontrollers. For example, Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M7 processors are used in many high-performance microcontroller products, with maximum clock frequencies reaching up to 400MHz.
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