Cortex-R4 is ARM’s processor for the next generation of mobile phones, hard-disk drives, printers and automotive designs, targeting more than one billion units in the embedded market.
The Cortex-R4 processor enables configurability during synthesis to optimize the processor for different embedded applications through the memory protection unit, caches and tightly coupled memory (TCM).
The Thumb-2 instruction set allows the Cortex-R4 processor to be used in place of the two separate processors that would traditionally be used in 3G baseband modems. This saves cost and complexity while still running all of the same code. The benefits or the hard-disk drive market consists in tightly coupled memory (TCM) capabilities offer smaller and more efficient integration with rapid response times. For automotive applications, the Cortex-R4 processor includes fault tolerance for critical safety applications as well as memory protection that supports the latest version of the OSEK real time operating system. This is important for building system-on-chip (SoC) devices for engine management systems that have to run in real-time with a wide range of peripherals.
The processor features a micro-architecture with dual instruction issue capability to deliver more than 600 Dhrystone MIPS in an optimized 90nm implementation, based upon the ARM Artisan Advantage library. The processor also provides key savings in cost and power consumption for system developers, occupying less than 1 mm2 and consuming less than 0.27mW/MHz.