ARM® Cortex®-M Architecture Overview

This course covers the architectural differences of the Cortex-M cores and will help you select which device is the best choice for your own application. (Sept 2022)

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About this course

The ARM® Cortex®-M cores are extremely popular with embedded designers and cover a wide range of capabilities and performance.  Ever wondered about the actual differences between the various cores?  Why should a designer use one core over another?  Or, when would a design benefit from a more powerful core in the family? This course covers the architectural differences of the Cortex-M cores.  Having a deeper understanding of the core's architecture leads to better decisions when designing Cortex-M based products.

Curriculum142 min

  • Syllabus
  • Course Overview and Agenda 2 min
  • Introduction to ARM Processors
  • Definition of an ARM Processor 5 min
  • Computer Architecture Review 4 min
  • ISA Relationship 4 min
  • ISA Performance: Instructions Per Cycle (IPC) 3 min
  • Pop Quiz 3 min
  • Functional Similarities Between Cortex-M Families
  • Programmer's Model 4 min
  • Binary Compatibility 1 min
  • Nested Vectored Interrupt Controller (NVIC) 16 min
  • SysTick Core Timer 2 min
  • Pop Quiz 3 min
  • Functional Differences Between Cortex-M Families
  • Bus Interfaces 5 min
  • Pipelines 5 min
  • Processor Modes 6 min
  • Fast I/O Access 2 min
  • DSP Instructions 2 min
  • Floating-Point Units 2 min
  • Pop Quiz 1 min
  • Optional Processor Features
  • Cortex-M0+ Features 2 min
  • Cortex-M23 Features 1 min
  • Cortex-M3/M4 Features 1 min
  • Cortex-M7 Features 2 min
  • Pop Quiz 3 min
  • Memory Hierarchy
  • Caches 17 min
  • Tightly-Coupled Memory (TCM) 8 min
  • Cache & TCM Performance Benchmarks 4 min
  • Pop Quiz 1 min
  • TrustZone®
  • Introduction 4 min
  • Cortex-M: States, Modes and Levels 7 min
  • Cortex-M: Add Worlds 4 min
  • Moving Between Worlds 3 min
  • TrustZone® Summary 2 min
  • Summary
  • Key Tradeoffs 6 min
  • Course Summary 1 min
  • Additional Resources 2 min
  • Your Feedback
  • We need Your Feedback

About this course

The ARM® Cortex®-M cores are extremely popular with embedded designers and cover a wide range of capabilities and performance.  Ever wondered about the actual differences between the various cores?  Why should a designer use one core over another?  Or, when would a design benefit from a more powerful core in the family? This course covers the architectural differences of the Cortex-M cores.  Having a deeper understanding of the core's architecture leads to better decisions when designing Cortex-M based products.

Curriculum142 min

  • Syllabus
  • Course Overview and Agenda 2 min
  • Introduction to ARM Processors
  • Definition of an ARM Processor 5 min
  • Computer Architecture Review 4 min
  • ISA Relationship 4 min
  • ISA Performance: Instructions Per Cycle (IPC) 3 min
  • Pop Quiz 3 min
  • Functional Similarities Between Cortex-M Families
  • Programmer's Model 4 min
  • Binary Compatibility 1 min
  • Nested Vectored Interrupt Controller (NVIC) 16 min
  • SysTick Core Timer 2 min
  • Pop Quiz 3 min
  • Functional Differences Between Cortex-M Families
  • Bus Interfaces 5 min
  • Pipelines 5 min
  • Processor Modes 6 min
  • Fast I/O Access 2 min
  • DSP Instructions 2 min
  • Floating-Point Units 2 min
  • Pop Quiz 1 min
  • Optional Processor Features
  • Cortex-M0+ Features 2 min
  • Cortex-M23 Features 1 min
  • Cortex-M3/M4 Features 1 min
  • Cortex-M7 Features 2 min
  • Pop Quiz 3 min
  • Memory Hierarchy
  • Caches 17 min
  • Tightly-Coupled Memory (TCM) 8 min
  • Cache & TCM Performance Benchmarks 4 min
  • Pop Quiz 1 min
  • TrustZone®
  • Introduction 4 min
  • Cortex-M: States, Modes and Levels 7 min
  • Cortex-M: Add Worlds 4 min
  • Moving Between Worlds 3 min
  • TrustZone® Summary 2 min
  • Summary
  • Key Tradeoffs 6 min
  • Course Summary 1 min
  • Additional Resources 2 min
  • Your Feedback
  • We need Your Feedback