Cortex-M1 Processor

ARM Cortex-M1 Frequency and Area

The table above provides a guideline for Cortex-M1 frequency and area on different FPGA platforms. Please note that the results obtained in individual FPGA systems depends on the synthesis tools used, Place & Route tools used as well as the configuration options chosen.

The following configuration options obtained the results shown in the above.

• The smallest Cortex-M1 configuration (0 K TCMs, No debug)
• Assuming the fastest commercial speed grade

Evaluation Programs

ARM has now made it possible to evaluate the Cortex-M1 before acquiring a license to it. There are two evaluation methods available.

The OpenCores Plus program is available through Arrow Electronics. A free evaluation download is available from Arrow. For more information on this program please visit the Arrow website.

The Cortex-M1 is also available for evaluation through the Synopsys ReadyIP program. The Synopsys ReadyIP flow for ARM Cortex-M1 processor allows you to integrate the evaluation core within your design and target your choice of FPGA vendor devices from Actel, Altera and Xilinx. Access to an evaluation version of the core is quick and provided using click-through licensing and online registration.

Feature Set

• Streamlined three stage 32 bit RISC processor
• High frequency, low area design
• Configurable instruction and data tightly coupled memories (0K - 1024K)
• Integrated interrupt controller
• 1 to 32 interrupts supported
• 4 priority levels per interrupt
• Highly configurable debug logic
• Removable debug, breakpoint and watchpoint
• Big or Little endian configurability
• Fast or small multiplier configuration options supported
• AMBA^® AHB-Lite 32-bit bus interface

Compatibility

Implementation of the Cortex-M1 processor may be on any FPGA device using either proprietary or vendor independent synthesis flows.

Cortex-M1 Development Kit

The ARM Cortex-M1 Development Kit is a natural extension to the Cortex-M1 processor, enabling developers to reduce engineering costs through the standardization of products on a single architecture spanning FPGAs, MCUs, ASICs and ASSPs.

The Cortex-M1 Development Kit, is a complete ARM design solution optimized for Altera Cyclone III Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices offering an easy route to deploying FPGAs, enabling developers to benefit from seamless integration of ARM processor technology using the Altera Quartus II and Altera SOPC tools.

The introduction of the ARM Cortex-M1 Development Kit, comprised of the ARM Cortex-M1 processor netlist and ARM RealView Microcontroller Development Kit, offers FPGA developers a plug-in to Altera’s development environment, as well as access to the ARM processor architecture at an affordable price. The Cortex-M1 Development Kit will be distributed throughout Europe and the US by Arrow Electronics. The Example System Tutorial (EST), User Guide (UG) and the Installation Guide (IG) for the Cortex-M1 Kit are available on the ARM Info Center.

Software and Tools

The Cortex-M1 processor is fully supported by the ARM RealView^® Development Suite and RealView Microcontroller Development Kit. The RealView Development Suite includes a complete instruction set system model (ISSM) allowing developers to create and test applications for the Cortex-M1 processor out of the box. Developers can easily customize the RealView Development Suite’s debugger to visualize and interact with peripherals added around a Cortex-M1 processor, and can also connect and debug applications running on Cortex-M1 silicon using ARM’s high-performance RealView ICE and ULINK^®2 run control units. The Cortex-M1 processor also benefits from broad and growing support from tools and RTOS vendors in the ARM Connected Community.