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ARM Processors

ARM Holdings is the world’s leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) supplier and as such is at the heart of the development of digital electronic products. ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. The ARM comprehensive product offering includes 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. ARM provides a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies.

ARM processors are commonly found in devices like mobiles phones while Intel processors are often used in larger devices like laptop or desktop computers. Because ARM is RISC based, the architecture requires fewer transistors which helps to improve cost, power consumption, and produces lower heat. Additionally, unlike computers which often prioritize performance, smartphones tend to benefit from the longer battery life and lower heat dissipation ARM provides. Also, ARM processors rely on software for performance while Intel processors rely on hardware. Again, as ARM processors evolve, they are being expanded into more and more applications, with computers being one.

Supported Technologies

Technology	ARM7 Family ARMv4T Architecture The ARM7 Family core is the industry’s most widely used 32-bit embedded risc microprocessor solution. optimized for cost and power-sensitive applications, the ARM7 solution provides the low power consumption, small size, and high performance needed in portable, embedded applications.	ARM9 Family ARMv5TE Architecture The ARM9 Family – High Performance Microprocessors for Embedded Applications : high performance, low power microprocessors targeted at embedded applications. To date most of the ARM design wins processors. This product is ideal for many mediumperformance embedded applications.	ARM11 Family ARMv6 Architecture
ARM ISA	Yes	Yes	Yes
Thumb ISA	Yes	Yes	Yes
Thumb-2 ISA	No	No	Yes (ARM1156T2-S Only)
DSP Extensions	No	Yes	Yes
SIMD Extensions	No	No	Yes
Jazelle Bytecode Support	No	Yes (ARM926EJ-S Only)	Yes (Except ARM1156T2-S)
Floating Point Support	No	Yes (VFP9)	Yes (VFP11)
TrustZone Security Extensions	No	No	Yes (ARM1176JZ(F)-S Only)
Cache Support	No	Yes	Yes
TCM Support	No	Yes	Yes

ISA – Instruction Set Architecture
SIMD – Single Instruction Multiple Data
TCM – Tightly Couple Memory

The ARM Cortex™-A series of applications processors provide an entire range of solutions for devices hosting a rich OS platform and user applications ranging from ultra-low-cost handset through smartphones, mobile computing platforms, digital TV and set-top boxes through enterprise networking, printers and server solutions. The market-proven Cortex-A8 processor along with the scalable Cortex-A9 and the high-efficiency Cortex-A5 processors all share the same architecture and therefore full application compatibility, that includes support for the traditional ARM, Thumb ® instruction set and new high performance and compact Thumb-2 instruction set.

Features

• Support for full Operating Systems
  • Linux full distributions- Android, Chrome, Ubuntu and Debian
  • Linux 3rd party – MontaVista, QNX, Wind River
  • Symbian
  • Windows CE
  • Other OS support requiring Memory Management Unit
• Instruction Set Support – ARM, Thumb-2, Thumb, Jazelle®, DSP
• TrustZone® Security Extensions
• Advanced single-precision and double-precision Floating Point support
• NEON™ media processing engine

Cortex-A Technologies

The ARM Cortex™-M processor family is an upwards compatible range of energy-efficient, easy to use processors designed to help developers meet the needs of tomorrow’s embedded applications. Those demands include delivering more features at a lower cost, increasing connectivity, better code reuse and improved energy efficiency.

Cortex-M Technologies