Classification and introduction of arm and series processors

1 ARM

 ARM That is, in Britain ARM（Advanced RISC Machines）,ARM The company only provides it externally ARM kernel , Major manufacturers are authorizing paid use ARM Develop and produce their own chips based on the kernel , Formed embedded and mobile terminals ARM CPU The big family of , The manufacturers that provide these core chips are Atmel、TI、 Freescale 、NXP、ST、 And Samsung, etc .

2 Compare and introduce

ARM  Microprocessors currently include the following series , In addition to having ARM  Beyond the common features of the architecture , For each series  ARM  Microprocessors have their own characteristics and application fields . It currently has Classic series 、Cortex-M series 、Cortex-R series 、Cortex-A Series and Cortex-A50 series 5 Two categories: .

Classic series
This series of processors consists of three sub series ：

ARM7 series ： be based on ARMv3 or ARMv4 framework
ARM9 series ： be based on ARMv5 framework
ARM11 series ： be based on ARMv6 framework
Cortex-M series
The series of processors include Cortex-M0、Cortex-M0+、Cortex-M1、Cortex-M3、Cortex-M4 common 5 Subseries . This series is mainly aimed at cost and power sensitive applications , Such as intelligent measurement 、 Man machine interface equipment 、 Automotive and industrial control systems 、 Household appliances 、 Consumer products and medical devices .

Cortex-R series
The series of processors include Cortex-R4、Cortex-R5、Cortex-R7 common 3 Subseries . For example, automobile brake system 、 Power transmission solutions 、 Large capacity storage controller and other deep embedded real-time applications .
Cortex-A series
The series of processors include Cortex-A5、Cortex-A7、Cortex-A8、Cortex-A9、Cortex-A12 and Cortex-A15 common 6 Subseries , Used to have high calculation requirements 、 Applications that run rich operating systems and provide interactive media and graphics experience , Like a smartphone 、 The tablet 、 Car entertainment system 、 Digital TV, etc .
Cortex-A50 series
be based on ARMv8 framework , Allow in 32 Bit and 64 Complete interaction between bits .

3 About Cortex-M series

32 position RISCCPU Continuous breakthroughs have been made in the field of development , Its microprocessor structure has been designed from v3 To the present v7.Cortex Family processor is based on ARMv7 Architecturally , It is divided into Cortex-M、Cortex-R and Cortex-A Three types of . Due to different application fields , be based on v7 Architecturally Cortex The technology used in the processor family is also different . be based on v7A Of is called “Cortex-A series . High performance Cortex-A15、 scalable Cortex-A9、 Market proven Cortex-A8 Processors and efficient Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A5 Processors all share the same architecture , Therefore, it has complete application compatibility , Support traditional ARM、Thumb Instruction set and new high performance compact Thumb-2 Instruction set .

3.1 Cortex-M series

Cortex-M The series can be divided into Cortex-M0、Cortex-M0+、Cortex-M3、Cortex-M4;

3.2 Cortex-R series

Cortex-R The series is divided into Cortex-R4、Cortex-R5、Cortex-R7;

3.3 Cortex-A series

Cortex-A The series is divided into Cortex-A5、Cortex-A7、Cortex-A8、Cortex-A9、Cortex-A15、Cortex-A50 etc. , Similarly, there is the corresponding kernel Cortex-M0 Development board 、Cortex-A5 Development board 、Cortex-A8 Development board 、Cortex-A9 Development board 、Cortex-R4 Development board, etc .

4 summary

4.1 Application scenarios

Generally speaking , As an industrial control processor , You can choose Cortex-M Family processor , among M0 Relatively simple and cheap , Suitable for replacing 51 Single chip microcomputer ,Cortex-R Processors can replace ARM9 As a control system with an operating system ;Cortex-A The more common occasion for series processors is consumer electronics .