Arm® microcontroller cores are a range of embedded processors that can be placed inside almost any electrical appliance to optimize safety, provide real-time data, and ensure smooth functionality.

But how do these Arm®-based microcontrollers work? And what is Arm® Cortex® technology? We answer all your technical questions in this complete guide to Arm® Cortex® hardware. 

 

Arm® Cortex® technology uses a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) processor core to create higher-performance and higher code density microcontrollers. These chips are designed for ease of use and can be found in billions of electronic devices and appliances all over the world.

Arm® technology has three different architecture profiles and equivalent processors:

  • Application processors (Cortex-A): These devices are application processors supporting operating systems (OS) and can be found at the heart of devices such as smartphones where intensive compute is required. This profile supports both 32-bit and 64-bit variants, using the A64, A32, and T32 instruction sets. It can also function alongside a Virtual Memory System Architecture (VMSA) using a Memory Management Unit (MMU).
  • Real-Time processors (Cortex-R): This profile supports the same execution states and instruction sets as the A profile, but this focuses on high performance for real-time applications. Real time applications require functions to return in a specified time with minimal latency that users consider immediate. An example could be real time motor control where monitoring and controlling motor speed needs a rapid measurement/response. These devices have better fault tolerance and work in safety critical applications These devices have a Protected Memory System Architecture (PMSA) with optional support for VMSA at Stage 1. Arm® Cortex® -R cores are designed for applications where real-time data and safety are critical.
  • Microcontrollers (Cortex-M): This is a scaled down family of processors designed for embedded applications. These microcontroller processor cores are 32-bit and optimized for low-cost and energy-efficient operation. They can be found in many SoCs (System-on-a-Chip). The M profile supports the T32 instruction set and works with a PMSA. It also introduces a programming model for low-latency interrupt processing, offering hardware stacking of registers and processing of high-level languages.

Arm® Cortex® -M devices are the most common, found in tens of billions of consumer devices. Arm® Cortex® -A and Arm® Cortex® -R devices are largely similar, except that the Cortex-R has been optimized for real-time safety data processing. Additionally, the Cortex® -A is the only chip to have an MMU, something that many modern operating systems require.

Arm® Cortex® processors can be found in almost any type of portable electronic device, including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and games consoles. They are powerful chips that provide the foundation for an energy-efficient CPU in smaller appliances. Below are some examples of where Arm® Cortex® processors are used:

Consumer Electronics

With optimized properties that increase energy efficiency and reduce heat production, Arm® Cortex® chips are ideal for consumer electronics since they are cost-effective and improve product performance.

Automotive

The automotive industry relies on microchips to produce modern cars and electric vehicles that offer innovative features and respond to safety concerns in real-time.

For instance, TRAVEO Arm® Cortex® processors are used for enhanced connectivity and functionality in cars. They are found in infotainment and HMI(human-machine interface), graphics, autonomous driving, and motor control.

Arm® Cortex® technology justifies its popularity time and again. It offers an array of benefits for a wide variety of industries and applications, including: 

  1. Cost-Effective: Buying an Arm® microcontroller can be a lot more cost-effective than buying one that uses complex instruction set computer (CISC) technology, because you only have to pay to license the architecture.
  2. Energy-Efficient: Arm® Cortex® devices use the RISC architecture, and as a consequence require fewer transistors, saving area. This means that while they may not operate at the highest level of performance, they are much more energy-efficient and can also generate less heat in small devices –ideal for improving battery life and battery management in portable devices like phones.
  3. Longevity: PSOC Arm® Cortex® devices include a wakeup interrupt controller (WIC), which can awaken the processor from Deep Sleep mode. This allows the power for the main processor to be switched off when the chip is in the Deep Sleep mode, creating a more efficient and longer-lasting device.
  4. Improves Safety: Arm®-based chips are designed to provide real-time insights into potential issues and improve general safety. Safety features include temperature monitoring, memory protection units, analog-to-digital converters for system analytics, and a CPU with a debug interface. This debug configuration has break-point (address) comparators and watchpoint (data) comparators.
  5. Flexible Uses: Arm® Cortex® architecture can be bought by third-party companies and used as the foundation for other chips. Additionally, there are three profiles of Arm® processors (A, R, and M) that are optimized for different purposes. This means Arm® Cortex® technology is very flexible and can be used in a wide range of applications.
  6. Enhanced Scalability: The flexibility of Arm® Cortex® microcontrollers enables your company to scale up and down with ease. There are over 1000-part numbers available for the Arm® Cortex® processors, meaning you can adapt your business operations to suit your growth

At Infineon, you can purchase a wide range of Arm® Cortex® cores and processors. Depending on your processing and industrial requirements, you could choose from one of the following chip categories:

  • 32-Bit Automotive PSOC Arm® Cortex® Microcontrollers: These chips are programmable system-on-chip solutions that use the Cortex-M core. They offer fast and flexible design software, helping you customize your microchips within minutes. These processors are ideal for preventing hardware bugs and implementing last-minute changes to your features and platform.
    • 32-bit PSOC™ 4 High Voltage Arm® Cortex®-M0+: Designed to be compliant with the automotive functional safety level of ASIL-B according to ISO 26262, the 32-bit PSOC™ 4 High Voltage family provides one-chip solutions for smart sensors integrating analog front-end, MCU, and connectivity saving board space.
    • 32-bit PSOC™ Automotive Multitouch Arm® Cortex®-M0: The PSOC™ Automotive Multitouch touchscreen controllers leverage the industry's broadest capacitive touch IP portfolio to deliver a new standard for performance to automotive touchscreens, delivering reliable operation in the most challenging environments.
    • 32-bit PSOC™ Fingerprint Arm® Cortex®-M0+: As the world's only programmable embedded System-on-Chip solution based on the ARM® Cortex® -M0+ processor, these microcontrollers enhance and modernize the driver interface.
  • 32-bit TRAVEO™ T2G Arm® Cortex® Microcontroller: Based on the powerful Arm® Cortex® series core in single and dual core operation, these microcontrollers offer state-of-the-art real time performance, safety and security features.

Infineon TRAVEO™ T2G MCUs are tailored for a broad range of automotive applications such as electrification, body control modules, gateway, and infotainment applications..

  • 32-Bit XMC Industrial Microcontroller Arm® Cortex®-M0: The XMC™ microcontroller family is based on ARM® Cortex®-M cores. XMC1000 bring together the ARM® Cortex®-M0 core and market-proven and differentiating peripherals in a leading-edge 65 nm manufacturing process. XMC4000 are powered by ARM® Cortex®-M4 with a built-in DSP instruction set. The XMC7000 is the latest entry in Infineon’s industrial microcontroller portfolio, equipped with peripherals such as CAN FD, TCPWM and Gb Ethernet, which increase flexibility and offer added value.