The ARM Cortex M3 is a high performance, low cost, and low power processor. Learn about the features and capabilities in this device that will make your next design a success.

Length/Options

• 2 days (lecture)

Audience

• Electrical engineers using or planning to use this device in new designs
• Embedded software developers interested in writing drivers or applications for this device

Prerequisites

• Working knowledge of processors
• Programming knowledge with C

Related Courses

• Hardware Interfacing with C
• Low Power Hardware Design

Outline

• Overview
• ARM v7 architecture
• Thumb-2 instruction set
• Cortex families
• Key comparisons vs. ARM7/9
• Comparisons vs. other low-power 8/16 bit CPUs
• Processor Model
• Register set
• Thumb-2 instruction set
• Operating modes
• Exception processing
• On-chip timer

Performance Features

• Harvard Architecture
• Low Power core
• Low & deterministic interrupt latency
• Special instructions
• Architecture features
• Multi-process/multi-tasking support
• Unaligned access

Exceptions & Interrupts

• NVIC interrupt controller
• Prioritized interrupts
• Dynamic interrupt priorities
• Nested interrupts
• Other exceptions
• Exception tail-chaining

Memory Protection Unit

• Motivation / benefits of MPU
• Protection and performance attributes
• Read / write configuration
• Code / data configuration
• Protected kernel / supervisor memory

Software Development

• Stack-based architecture
• C-friendly, no assembly required
• Stack & heap configuration
• Processor operating modes
• Porting between CM3 chips

Porting from ARM7/9

• Register models
• Banked registers vs. stack architecture
• Special instructions
• Exception processing & vector table
• Memory layout
• Startup code
• Porting 32-bit ARM assembly code

Debugging support

• Debug via JTAG and/or debug port
• Embedded trace
• Data watchpoints
• Flash patching / overlay
• Instrumentation Trace Macrocell

Overview of Third Party support

• Development tools
• Silicon vendors
• Boards
• RTOS

Learn More

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