ARM's comprehensive product offering includes 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, 3D processors, digital libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools, as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. Combined with the company's broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies.

The ARM business model involves the designing and licensing of IP rather than the manufacturing and selling of actual semiconductor chips. It licences its IP to a network of 'Partners', which includes the world's leading semiconductor and systems companies. These Partners utilise ARM's IP designs to create and manufacture system-on-chip designs, paying ARM a license fee for the original IP and a royalty on every chip or wafer produced. In order to maximise the range of users of ARM products, the Company provides a range of tools, software and systems IP to facilitate adoption and incorporation.


With ARM's diversity of IP and broad range of performance features, the world's leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) use ARM's IP in a wide variety of applications ranging from mobile handsets and digital set top boxes to car braking systems and network routers. The 5 key market segments the Company addresses are:

1) Embedded Solutions,
2) Enterprise Solutions,
3) Home Solutions,
4) Mobile Solutions, and
5) Emerging Applications.


Today ARM technology is used in more than 90% of the world’s mobile handsets and ARM is continually growing in usage in the non-mobile markets as well.

ARM provides developers with intellectual property (IP) solutions in the form of processors, physical IP, cache and SoC designs, application-specific standard products (ASSPs), related software and development tools — everything you need to create an innovative product design based on industry-standard components that are ‘next generation’ compatible.

Processor Families

ARM offers a wide range of processor cores based on a common architecture, that deliver high performance together with low power consumption and system cost.

Processor Overview

Embedded Processors
ARM Cortex-A8
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
ARM Cortex-A9 Single Core Processor
ARM1020E
ARM1022E
ARM1026EJ-S
ARM11 MPCore
ARM1136J(F)-S
ARM1176JZ(F)-S
ARM720T
ARM920T
ARM922T
ARM926EJ-S

Application Processors
ARM Cortex-M1
ARM Cortex-M3
ARM Cortex-R4(F)
ARM1026EJ-S
ARM1156T2(F)-S
ARM7EJ-S
ARM7TDMI
ARM7TDMI-S
ARM946E-S
ARM966E-S
ARM968E-S
ARM996HS

Secure Cores
SecurCore SC100
SecurCore SC200

Processor Families

ARM7 is best seller in 32bit low power, low cost embedded processors.

 

 

 

 

ARM9 is mainstream in next generation mobile devices.

 

 

 

 

ARM9E is DSP and Java Enhanced ARM9 processor, floating point.

 

 

 

 

ARM10E is high performance and low power consumption.

 

 

 

 

ARM11 is high performance processors, with multiple cores.

 

 

 

 

ARM Cortex is new generation ARM cores with Thumb-2 instructions. (A/R/M families)

 

 

 

 

ARM SecureCore Embedded cores for secure applications.

 

 

 

 

ARM Data Engines is software core for data processing.

 

 

 

 

XScale is high performance ARM cores from Intel, via acquiring DEC StrongARM, now this division was sold to Marvell, but Intel still use XScale in many CE products such as CE2110. Intel XScale site is here.

 

 

 

Architecture

The ARM ISA is constantly improving to meet the increasing demands of leading edge applications developers, while retaining the backwards compatibility necessary to protect investment in software development. It covers ARMv4, ARMv4T, ARMv5TE, ATMv5TEJ, ARMv6, ARMv7, NEON Media Acceleration, VFP, ARM TrustZone, Thumb-2, Debug and Trace, AMBA, ARM IEM and other technologies.

 

 

Silicon Vendors

Like 8051, ARM has been available from many silicon vendors. So many ASSPs, general purpose ARM suppliers are ATMEL, Luminary, NXP, Samsung, ST.

 

 

Atmel has AT91SAM7S, AT91SAM7SE, AT91SAM7X and AT91SAM9 Smart ARM®-based microcontrollers.

 

 

 

 

 

NXP has 4 ARM based microcontrollers, LPC2000(ARM7TDMI) / LPC3000(ARM926ES) / LH7(ARM7TDMI)LH7A(ARM9). LH7 and 7A were Sharp lines, acquired by NXP recently. LPC2000 use internal 128bit flash memory, so its overall running speed is quite fast than other competitors, while keep the low cost advantage. The LH7/LH7A were focused on PMP market, not for sure now.

ARM LPC2000 NXP REFERENCE PAGE

 

 

 

ST has 3 product lines for ARM standard microcontroller, STR7(ARM7TDMI) / STR9(ARM966ES) / STM32(Cortex-M3). And also ST has own ARM based application processor Nomadik.

 

 

 

 

Actel offers ARM7 soft core CoreMP7 in FPGA, called ARMinFusion, now with Cortex-M1.

 

 

 

 

Altera ARM922 hard core available in FPGA in the name of Excalibur. Not for new design.

 

 

 

 

ADI called it as analog microcontroller. All ARM7TDMI based, with enhances analog features.

 

 

 

 

ATMEL offers a lot of ARM microcontrollers on ARM7TDMI, ARM9, configured ARM and secure ARM.

 

 

 

 

The partnership will enable Broadcom to use ARM technology to further accelerate its leadership position in a number of markets, including next-generation mobile, networking, and wireless devices. The two companies also expect that through the extended partnership, Broadcom's expertise in broadband and wireless communications will assist ARM in developing better microprocessor solutions for these high-growth markets.

 

 

Conexant uses ARM in its networking products.

 

 

 

 

Intel has StrongARM and Xscale cores.

 

 

 

 

LSI logic uses ARM in its data communication SoC.

 

 

 

 

Luminary offers general purposes ARM Cortex-M3.

 

 

 

 

Marvell merged Xscale division from Intel.

 

 

 

 

Micronas offers ARM7 based dash board controller.

 

 

 

 

NetSilicon offers SoC with ARM and Ethernet NIC inside, now part of Digi.

 

 

 

 

Neomagic offers ARM based application processor for mobile devices.

 

 

 

 

OKI Semicon offers low cost ARM microcontroller and ASSP services.

 

 

 

 

Oxford Semicon offers ARM based storage controller and SATA controllers.

 

 

 

 

Pixim offers ARM based chipset for cameras.

 

 

 

 

Qualcomm offers very powerful mobile phone application processor based upon ARM, named as Scopions, runs on 1GHz. It has ARM7TDMI for CDMA phone as well.

 

 

 

 

Samsung Electronics offers general purpose ARM microcontrollers and many ASSP.

 

 

 

 

 

Winbond from Taiwan offers ARM7TDMI based microprocessor in 0.18um process.

 

 

 

 

Zoran offers application processor with ARM inside in sections of digital printing.

 

Freescale's ARM-based processors offer low component count, long battery life and exceptional performance. From multimedia entertainment to file sharing, our i.MX family of application processors delivers. With i.MX, rich multimedia experiences spring to life. Plus, i.MX's renowned integration can help you speed through development.