Apple officially launched a new generation of mobile device iPhone in June. In terms of hardware, Apple iPhone uses S3C6400 processor produced by Samsung Electronics. Based on the architecture of ARM 1 1, the running frequency of ARM176 JZF program kernel is as high as 620MHz, which ensures the smooth running of Mac OS, and the corresponding program running memory reaches 65438. In terms of touch mode, the iPhone adopts multi-touch technology, and the gorgeous 3D interface and smooth screen are enough to make people marvel at the beauty of technology.
The realization of such multi-functions depends entirely on an excellent chip, the core of which is the latest ARM 1 1 V6. The super performance of ARM 1 1 processor is determined by a series of architectural features. Arm V6-the foundation that determines performance Armv6 architecture determines the foundation that can achieve high-performance processors.
Generally speaking, ARMv6 architecture enhances the performance of the processor through the following points:
Multimedia processing extension
The encoding/decoding of MPEG4-4 is doubled.
Double the audio processing.
Enhanced cache structure
Real address cache
Reduce cache refresh and overload
Reduce the overhead of context switching
Enhanced exception and interrupt handling
Improve real-time task processing speed = support non-aligned and mixed byte-order data access.
It makes data sharing and software porting easier, and also helps to save memory space.
For most applications, ARMv6 maintains the binary backward compatibility of 100%, so that the programs developed by users in the past can be further inherited. ARMv6 retains the extensions of T(Thumb instruction) and E(DSP instruction) in all previous architectures, which makes the characteristics of code compression and DSP processing continue. In order to speed up the execution of Java code, ARM Jazalle technology also continues to play an important role in ARMv6 architecture.
The ARM 1 1 processor is designed to effectively provide high-performance processing capabilities. There are three kernel models in this series: ARM 1 136J, ARM 1 156T2, ARM 1 176JZ.
The ARM 1 1 processor series adopts 130nm OEM technology, and its performance can reach up to 500MHz, as small as 2.2mm2 chip area and as low as 0.24mW/MHz. The ARM 1 1 processor family faces many consumer product markets, and many new technologies have been introduced, including SIMD for media processing, TrustZone technology for improving security performance, intelligent energy management (IEM) and system multiprocessing technology with extremely high scalability over 2600 Dhrystone 2. 1 MIPS.
The following is a brief introduction to several ARM processor cores. It can be noted that with the development of processor core technology, the speed of processor is getting faster and faster, which is mainly due to the technical development of ARM pipeline.
The ARM 1 176JZF-S integrated processor is specially designed for consumer and wireless products including digital TV, set-top boxes, game consoles and mobile phones. This processor uses ARM Jazelle? Java acceleration technology, ARM TrustZone? Technology (the key technology to provide security performance for consumer products running open operating systems such as Symbian OS, Linux and Windows CE) and vector floating-point (VFP) coprocessor (providing powerful acceleration function for embedded 3D images).
Next, we introduce a system using the ARM 1 1v6 kernel. Freescale i.mx3 1 is one of the high-performance development boards supporting the ARM 1 1 kernel, which is widely used. 1. MX3 1 adopts ARM 1 136 kernel. The ARM 1 1 kernel is more suitable for browsing higher quality multimedia content than AMR9. The processing speed is increased from 266MHz to 665MHz, and the L2 cache of 128KB is also supported. The ARM 1 1 kernel not only supports videos, but also supports 3D game screens.
Various external memory interfaces facilitate the integration of external memory into mobile systems. According to different applications and OEMs, different storage components can be selected, and the simplest screening method is to see if they are compatible with the design. I.MX3 1 can be compatible with general-purpose memories such as NAND and NOR Flash, as well as some patented memories, such as on-chip disks of M-Systems and VsynchFlash of Micron.
In addition to providing various external memory interfaces, the connection function also plays an important role in design selection, especially in multimedia-rich applications, because if the video transmission time to the system is too long, the user's interest in this function will be weakened.
Efficient power management has always been the unremitting pursuit of users. Although independent power management components can also be used, it would be better if they can be integrated into the chip. Its advantages are twofold. First of all, it reduces the number of parts needed in the system, reduces the appearance and reduces the cost of raw materials. Second, this is undoubtedly good for the whole equipment, and all kinds of power consumption are minimized. Texas Instruments has done a good job in this respect, and its OMAP 2 platform can independently shut down idle functional modules. I.MX3 1 also uses similar methods to avoid power waste.
The last attraction is the external performance. Traditional mobile devices are connected to a system, such as data transmission from a PC to the device, and there are no other functions such as calling with a Bluetooth mobile phone at the same time. Nowadays, the new application processor has broken through this limitation and added additional interfaces to realize this function. In addition, previous devices need to spend a lot of time when transmitting large-scale data such as movies from one system to another, unless they have high-speed connection function. While i.MX3 1 has two high-speed USB interfaces, a 500MB video can be easily completed in about 15s, while if the previous technology is used, it will take at least 10 minutes.
Embedded development has broad prospects, especially embedded development in Linux environment is a new blue ocean in IT industry. At present, more than one-third of mobile devices use Linux system. Its related industries are nearly 10 billion US dollars. From the perspective of IT workplace, the remuneration package of embedded talents and talents is obviously at the top of the industry, with an annual income of over 65.438 million. Professionals with several years of work experience are the targets of many multinational IT companies. However, the requirements of embedded learning are more demanding, and it is necessary to have a solid theoretical foundation and excellent technical foundation. As a senior professional, one must be competent for the demanding requirements in this field through exquisite study, assiduous research and wholehearted investment.
Learning embedded technology has become the first step to enter this gray collar industry. Uplooking is the first in China to launch an embedded development training course based on ARM 1 1. Conke, a former embedded expert from Intel and AMD, was invited to teach in person. The course development of ARM 1 1 lasted 1 year and was jointly developed by many well-known embedded experts at home and abroad. The course combines project practice and classical theory, from shallow to deep, from high to low, one by one, nuanced. Another 9 years of expert guidance on Linux kernel. Freescale ARM 1 1 development environment support. Help you make a career leap from engineer to scientist.