General-Purpose, Deterministic 32-Bit Performance

The Cortex-M processor series is designed to enable developers to create cost-sensitive and power-constrained solutions for a broad range of devices. The optimal balance between area, performance, and power makes Cortex-M3 ideal for products such as microcontrollers, automotive body systems, and wireless networking and sensors.

Features and Benefits

Widely Supported 

Reduce time to market and achieve first-time success by using one of the most trusted processors. It is deployed in billions of devices across a broad set of embedded applications and backed by the richest ecosystem of software, tools, and knowledge.
 Low Power Consumption

Achieve more with Cortex-M3, which features exceptional 32-bit performance with low dynamic power. It also delivers leading system energy efficiency, thanks to integrated software-controlled sleep modes, extensive clock gating, and optional state retention.
Deploy on FPGA

Available at $0 for use in FPGA designs, for prototypes and commercial projects.
Use Cases

Where Innovation and Ideas Come to Life
Smart Home Devices

Increasingly smart devices and advanced levels of interaction demand 32-bit performance, without compromising on cost or power. Cortex-M3 is used across many smart home devices, providing the perfect balance of performance, cost, and ease of programming required in smart home devices.

Learn More
Internet of Things (IoT) Applications

The Cortex-M3 processor provides the ideal balance between performance and power consumption to enable a range of Internet-connected devices.

Learn More

Talk with an Expert

Find out how the Arm Cortex-M3 processor can improve power efficiency in your smallest applications.

Contact Us

Available in Arm Flexible Access

For unlimited design access to this product and other useful Arm IP, visit Arm Flexible Access. Start your project off the right way with the world’s leading SoC design portfolio. This CPU IP is available in Arm Flexible Access at $0.

Learn More
Related Products and Services

Explore More Options and Features

Arm Development Studio

Arm Development Studio

An end-to-end software development environment for all Arm-based systems, including Arm Compiler, debuggers, IDEs, performance analysis tools, models and middleware.

Learn More

Corstone-101

The Arm Corstone-101 package contains a pre-verified subsystem and system IP to help make the development of secure custom SoCs for IoT and embedded applications quick and efficient.

Learn More
Software Test Libraries

Software Test Libraries

Arm's Software Test Libraries provide diagnostic coverage to address functional safety requirements for ISO 26262 and IEC 61508 systems, with flexible execution scheduling minimizing the run-time impact on applications.

Learn More
Architecture and Technologies

A Foundation of Silicon Success  

Arm-based chips, device architectures, and technologies orchestrate the performance of everything that makes modern life possible — from smartphones to agricultural sensors and from medical instruments to servers.

Cortex-M3 Resources

Reference Book

Blog

Case Study

Tools

Training

Event

Visit Arm Developer