ARM Processor

By Neha Dewangan
Guest Faculty
SoS in Electronics & Photonics, PRSU
Introduction
The ARM microcontroller stands for Advance RISC Machine.
ARM makes 32-bit and 64-bit RISC multi-core processors.
The first ARM processor was developed in the year 1978 by Cambridge University, and the
first ARM RISC processor was produced by the Acorn Group of Computers in the year 1985.
These processors are specifically used in portable devices like digital cameras, mobile phones,
home networking modules and wireless communication technologies and other embedded
systems due to the benefits, such as low power consumption, reasonable performance, etc.
The ARM architecture comes with totally different versions like ARMv1, ARMv2, etc., and,
each one has its own advantage and disadvantages.
ARM Features
Multiprocessing Systems – 
ARM processors are designed so that they can be used in cases of multiprocessing systems
where more than one processors are used to process information. First ARM processor
introduced by name of ARMv6K had ability to support 4 CPUs along with its hardware. 
Tightly Coupled Memory – 
Memory of ARM processors is tightly coupled. This has very fast response time. It has low
latency (quick response) that can also be used in cases of cache memory being
unpredictable. 
Memory Management – 
ARM processor has management section. This includes Memory Management Unit and
Memory Protection Unit. These management systems become very important in managing
memory efficiently.
Thumb-2 Technology – 
Thumb-2 Technology was introduced in 2003 and was used to create variable length instruction
set. It extends 16-bit instructions of initial Thumb technology to 32-bit instructions. It has better
performance than previously used Thumb technology.
One cycle execution time – 
ARM processor is optimized for each instruction on CPU. Each instruction is of fixed length that
allows time for fetching future instructions before executing present instruction. ARM has CPI
(Clock Per Instruction) of one cycle.
Pipelining – 
Processing of instructions is done in parallel using pipelines. Instructions are broken down and
decoded in one pipeline stage. The pipeline advances one step at a time to increase rate of
processing.
Large number of registers – 
Large number of registers are used in ARM processor to prevent large amount of memory
interactions. Registers contain data and addresses. These act as local memory store for all
operations.
ARM Architecture
The ARM architecture processor is an advanced reduced instruction set computing
[RISC] machine and it’s a 32bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC)
microcontroller. It consist of a combination of Hardware and Software Architecture.
Hardware Architecture
 The above figure shows a typical embedded device based on an ARM core. The embedded system can
control many different devices, all these devices use a combination of software and hardware components.
 Each block does a specific function. The lines connecting the blocks are the buses used to carry the data.
The embedded system hardware is divided into four main hardware components, they are
1. ARM processor
2. Controllers
3. Peripherals
4. Bus

ARM processor: The ARM processor controls the embedded device. An ARM processor comprises a core
plus the surrounding components that interface it with a bus. These components can include memory
management and caches.
Controllers: Controllers coordinate important functional blocks of the system. Two commonly found
controllers are interrupt controller and memory controller.
Peripherals: The peripherals provide all the input-output capability external to the chip and are responsible
for the uniqueness of the embedded device.
Bus: A bus is used to communicate between different parts of the device. Embedded systems use different
bus technologies. The most common PCI bus technology, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
bus, this type of technology is external or off-chip. Embedded devices use an on-chip bus that is internal
to the chip and that allows different peripheral devices to be interconnected with an ARM core.
Software Architecture
 Initial hardware configuration involves setting up the target platform so it can boot
an image. The target platform itself comes up in a standard configuration.
Diagnostic code is fault identification and isolation. Booting involves loading an
image and handing control over to that image. The boot process itself can be
complicated if the system must boot different operating systems or different
versions of the same operating system.
 Initialization code is the first code executed on the board and its sets up the
minimum parts of the board before handing control over to the operating system.
 Device drivers provide a consistent software interface to the peripherals on the
hardware device.
 Operating system provides an infrastructure to control applications and manage
hardware system resources. Many embedded systems do not require a full
operating system.
 Application performs one of the tasks required for a device.
Applications
Embedded Solutions Enterprise Solutions Emerging Applications
• Smart Cards • Flash Cards • Gaming
• Automotive • Hard Disks • Robot
• Dashboard Controls • Printers • And much more….
Mobile Solutions Home Solutions
• Bluetooth • Still Cameras
• PDA • Digital TV
• Smart Phone • Set Top Box
Advantages of ARM Processor
1.Affordable to create –
ARM Processor is very affordable as it does not need expensive equipment’s for its creation.
When compare to other processors, it is created at much lesser price. This is why they are apt
for making of low cost Mobile phones and other electronic devices.
2.Low Power Consumption –
ARM Processors have lesser power consumption. They were initially designed for
performing at lesser power. They even have lesser transistors in their architecture. They have
various other features that allow for this.
3.Work Faster –
ARM performs single operation at a time. This makes it work faster. It has lower latency that
is quicker response time.
4.Multiprocessing feature –
ARM processors are designed so that they can be used in cases of multiprocessing systems
where more than one processors are used to process information. First ARM processor
introduced by name of ARMv6K had ability to support 4 CPUs along with its hardware.
Advantages of ARM Processor
5.Better Battery Life –
ARM Processors have better battery life. This is seen from administering devices that
use ARM processors and those that do not. Those that used ARM processors worked
for longer and got discharged later than those that did not work on ARM processor
6.Load store architecture –
The processor uses load store architecture that stores data in various registers (to
reduce memory interactions). It has separate load and store instructions that are used
to transfer data between external memory and register bank.
7.Simple Circuits –
ARM processors have simple circuits, hence they are very compact and can be used in
devices that are smaller in size (several devices are becoming smaller and more
compact due to customer demands).
Disadvantages of ARM Processor
1.It is not compatible with X86 hence it cannot be used in Windows.
2.The speeds are limited in some processors which might create problems.
3.Scheduling instructions is difficult in case of ARM processors.
4.There must be proper execution of instructions by programmer. This is because
entire performance of ARM processors depend upon their execution.
5.ARM Processor needs very highly skilled programmers. This is because of
importance and complexity of execution (processor shows lesser performance when
not executed properly.).
Some Useful Links
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture_family
 https://www.watelectronics.com/arm-processor-architecture-working/#:~:text=The
%20ARM%20cortex%20microcontroller%20is,then%20instructions%20are%20ex
ecuted%20conditionally
.
 https://kanchiuniv.ac.in/coursematerials/Lecture%20notes%20for%20ARM%20Ar
chitecture_Module%20I.pdf
 https://www.cs.ccu.edu.tw/~pahsiung/courses/ese/notes/ESD_03_ARM_Architectu
re.pdf