EEE304 Microprocessors Course Overview

Course Introduction to EEE304 Microprocessors

• The course EEE304 Microprocessors consists of 3 hours of lectures and 2 hours of lab sessions per week, spanning 14 weeks.
• The prerequisite for the course is EEE104 Logic Circuit Design with a minimum attendance requirement of 70%.

Course Objectives and Outcomes

• The course aims to explain the instruction set architecture of microprocessors, internal structure, memory hierarchy, and programming input/output ports.
• The course learning outcomes include understanding instruction set architecture, using assembly instructions, understanding internal structure and memory hierarchy, programming input/output ports, and creating a project using a microprocessor/microcontroller.

Microprocessor Definition and Importance

• A microprocessor is a central processing unit (CPU) designed to carry out arithmetic and logic operations in a computer.
• It is a silicon chip that serves as the brain of a digital device, interpreting instructions and executing tasks to perform various computing functions.
• Key components of a microprocessor include the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), datapath, control unit (CU), and registers.
• Microprocessors are important for powering computers, embedded systems, connectivity, real-time processing, innovation, and advancement.

Microprocessor and Microcontroller

• A microprocessor is a central processing unit (CPU) designed to carry out arithmetic and logic operations in a computer.
• A microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit (IC) containing a processor, memory, and input/output peripherals.

Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)

• ISA is an abstract interface between the hardware and the low-level software interface.
• It includes addressing modes, operand numbers and types, instructions, and instruction formats.

ARM Microprocessor

• ARM started with Acorn Computers, which produced desktop PCs for the educational market in the UK.
• The ARM1 was designed to run at 4 MHz using less than 25,000 transistors.
• The ARM2 added multiply and multiply-accumulate instructions, a coprocessor interface, and more registers for handling interrupts.
• The ARM7TDMI expanded the original ARM7 design to include new hardware specifically for an external debugger.
• Thumb, a compressed instruction set, was created to increase performance in embedded systems.

ARM History

• ARM7 introduced in 1993 was used by Acorn for a new line of computers and by Psion for a new line of PDAs.
• The ARM11 family, the Cortex family, and processors for multi-core and secure applications were released in the early 2000s.
• Today, ARM is the leading technology provider of processor IP, offering the widest range of cores to address the performance, power, and cost requirements of every device.

ARM Processor Family

• Cortex-A: Supreme performance at optimal power
• Cortex-M: Powering the most energy-efficient embedded devices
• Cortex-R: Robust real-time performance
• Ethos – NPUs: Highest performance for machine learning inference
• Neoverse: Scalable and flexible for cloud to edge infrastructure
• SecurCore: Powerful solutions for physical security applications