ARM Cortex-A9

ARM Cortex-A9

Designed by	ARM Holdings
Max. CPU clock rate	0.8 GHz  to 2 GHz
Microarchitecture	ARMv7-A
Cores	1–4
L1 cache	32 KB I, 32 KB D
L2 cache	128 KB–8 MB (configurable with L2 cache controller)

The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture. It is a multicore processor providing up to 4 cache-coherent cores.^[1]

Overview

Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:^[2]

• Out-of-order speculative issue superscalar execution 8-stage^[3] pipeline giving 2.50 DMIPS/MHz/core.
• NEON SIMD instruction set extension performing up to 16 operations per instruction (optional).
• High performance VFPv3 floating point unit doubling the performance of previous ARM FPUs (optional).
• Thumb-2 instruction set encoding reduces the size of programs with little impact on performance.
• TrustZone security extensions.
• Jazelle DBX support for Java execution.
• Jazelle RCT for JIT compilation.
• Program Trace Macrocell and CoreSight Design Kit for non-intrusive tracing of instruction execution.
• L2 cache controller (0–4 MB).
• Multi-core processing.

ARM states that the TSMC 40G hard macro implementation typically operating at 2 GHz; a single core (excluding caches) occupies less than 1.5 mm² when designed in a TSMC 65 nanometer (nm) generic process^[4] and can be clocked at speeds over 1 GHz, consuming less than 250 mW per core.^[5]

Chips

Several system on a chip (SoC) devices implement the Cortex-A9 core, including:

• Altera SoC FPGA^[6]
• AMLogic AML8726-M^[7]
• Apple A5, A5X
• Broadcom BCM11311 (Persona ICE)^[8]
• Calxeda EnergyCore ECX-1000^[9]
• Entropic EN7588^[10]
• Freescale Semiconductor i.MX6^[11]
• HiSilicon^[12] K3V2 -Hi3620^[13]
• Marvell Avastar 88W8787, used in the Sony PlayStation Vita^[14][15]
• MediaTek MT6575^[16] (single core), MT6577^[17] (dual core)
• Nufront NuSmart 2816, 2816M, 115^[18]
• Nvidia Tegra 2 (without NEON extensions), Tegra 3 and Tegra 4i
• Trident Microsystems 847x/8x/9x SoC family^[19]
• Renesas Electronics RZ/A1H Family
• Samsung Exynos 4210,^[20] 4212, 4412
• Rockchip RK3066,^[21] RK292x, RK31xx
• STMicroelectronics SPEAr1310,^[22] SPEAr1340^[23]
• ST-Ericsson Nova A9500, NovaThor U8500,^[24] NovaThor U9500^[25]
• Texas Instruments OMAP4 processors
• Texas Instruments Sitara AM437x^[26]
• WonderMedia WM8850, WM8950 and WM8980^[27]
• Xilinx Extensible Processing Platform^[28]
• ZiiLABS ZMS-20^[29]

Systems on a chip

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Developer	Name	Cores	Process	NEON SIMD	Vector floating point unit	GPU
Altera	SoC FPGA	1–2	28 nm	Yes	VFPv3	optionally implemented in FPGA; TES Electronic Solutions D/AVE HD
AMLogic	AML8726-M	1	65 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400
AMLogic	AML8726-MX	2	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400 MP2
AMLogic	AML8726-M8	4	28 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-450 MP6
Apple Inc.	A5	2	32 nm 45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX543MP2
Apple Inc.	A5X	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX543MP4
Broadcom	BCM11311 (Persona ICE)	2	40 nm	?	?	Broadcom Videocore IV
Broadcom	BCM21654	1	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	Broadcom Videocore IV
Broadcom	BCM21664T	2	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	Broadcom Videocore IV
Calxeda	EnergyCore ECX-1000[9]	4	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	-
Freescale Semiconductor	i.MX6[30]	1-4	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3-D32	Vivante Corporation GPU IP cores[31]
HiSilicon	K3V2 (Hi3620)	4	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	Vivante GC4000
LG Corp	LG L9	2	?	?	?	ARM Mali-400 MP4
Marvell	PXA986	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX540 / Vivante GC1000 (Galaxy Tab 3 7-inch)
Marvell	PXA988	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	Vivante GC1000
MediaTek	MT6575	1	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX531[16]
MediaTek	MT6577	2	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX531[17]
Nufront	NuSmartTM 2816(NS2816)	2	?	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400[32]
Nufront	NuSmartTM 2816M (NS2816M)	2	?	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400
Nufront	NuSmartTM 115 (NS115)	2	?	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400
Nvidia	Tegra 2 series	2	40 nm	No	VFPv3-D16	GeForce ULP
Nvidia	Tegra 3 (Kal-El) series	4	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	GeForce ULP
Renesas Electronics	RZ/A1H[33]	1	various	Yes	VFPv3	WXGA 2D graphics 10MByte RAM SoC
Renesas Electronics	RZ/A1M[34]	1	various	Yes	VFPv3	WXGA 2D graphics 5MByte RAM SoC
Renesas Electronics	RZ/A1L[34]	1	various	Yes	VFPv3	WXGA 2D graphics 3MByte RAM SoC
Rockchip	RK2928	1	40 nm	?	?	ARM Mali-400
Rockchip	RK3066[21]	2	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400 MP4
Rockchip	RK3128	2	?	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400 MP4
Rockchip	RK3188[35]	4	28 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400 MP4
Samsung	Exynos 4 Dual	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	G ARM Mali-400 MP4
Samsung	Exynos 4 Dual	2	32 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400 MP4
Samsung	Exynos 4 Quad	4	32 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400 MP4
STMicroelectronics	SPEAr1310	?	?	No	VFPv3	–
STMicroelectronics	SPEAr1340	2	?	No	VFPv3-D16	ARM Mali-200[36]
ST-Ericsson	Nova A9500	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400
ST-Ericsson	NovaThor U8500	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400
ST-Ericsson	NovaThor U9500	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	ARM Mali-400
Sony	PlayStation Vita	4	40 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX543MP4+
Texas Instruments	Sitara AM437x	1	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	SGX530 Graphics Engine
Texas Instruments	OMAP4430 OMAP4460	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX540
Texas Instruments	OMAP4470	2	45 nm	Yes	VFPv3	PowerVR SGX544
Trident Microsystems	PNX8473[37]	1	?	?	?	PowerVR SGX531
Trident Microsystems	PNX8483[38]	1	?	?	?	PowerVR SGX531
Trident Microsystems	PNX8491[39]	1	?	?	?	PowerVR SGX531
WonderMedia	WM8850	1	?	Yes	?	ARM Mali-400
WonderMedia	WM8880	2	40 nm	?	?	ARM Mali-400 MP2
WonderMedia	WM8950	1	?	?	?	ARM Mali-400[27]
WonderMedia	WM8980	2	40 nm	?	?	ARM Mali-400 MP2
Xilinx	Zynq-7000[40]	2	28 nm	Yes	VFPv3	–
ZiiLABS	ZMS-20	?	?	Yes	VFPv3	ZiiLABS flexible Stemcell media processing

Development platforms

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Developer	Name	SoC	RAM	Flash	SD	SATA	USB	Ethernet	Wi-Fi	Bluetooth	Other
FriendlyARM	NanoPi-2[41] NanoPi-2 Fire[42] NanoPi M2[43] NanoPC-T2[44]	Samsung Exynos 4210	32bit 1GB DDR3	8GB on PC-T2	2 microSD ports		2.0 USB port/s	RTL8211E on NanoPi-2 Fire, M2, PC-T2.	802.11b/g/n	BT 4.0 Dual mode	40 RasberryPi compatible GPIO pins, UART, very small size and cost.
Origenboard	Origenboard[45]	Samsung Exynos 4210	1 GiB DDR3		2 port SD/MMC		embedded		SWB-A31	SWB-A31
Odroid	Odroid-X[46]	Samsung Exynos 4412	2 GiB LPDDR2-800		SDHC + eMMC module socket (non-standard)		6×USB 2.0 host + micro-USB 2.0 device	10/100 Mbit/s
Odroid	Odroid-U3[47]	Samsung Exynos 4412	2 GB		eMMC module socket (non-standard), microSD		3×USB 2.0 host + micro-USB 2.0 device/host	10/100 Mbit/s			Hardkernel has other product variants using the 4412. USB supports external Notebook harddrive with no external power. Preloaded emmc with Android and LUbuntu available.[48]
PandaBoard	PandaBoard	TI OMAP4430[49]	1 GiB LPDDR2		SD/MMC		LAN9514-JZX	LAN9514-JZX	LS240-WI-01-A20	LS240-WI-01-A20
Calao systems	Snowball[50]	ST-Ericsson Nova A9500[51]	1 GiB LPDDR2	4/8 GB eMMC	microSD		FT232R	LAN9221	AW-NH580	AW-NH580	GPS, accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, barometer
Trim-Slice	Trim-Slice[52]	Tegra 2 series	1 GiB DDR2-667		SDHC + microSDHC	GL830	embedded	RTL8111DL	RT3070
Radxa	Radxa Rock[53]	Rockchip RK3188	2 GiB DDR3-800	8 GB	microSDXC		2×USB 2.0 host + micro-USB 2.0 device	10/100 Mbit/s	150 Mbit/s 802.11b/g/n	Bluetooth 4.0

See also

• ARM architecture
• List of ARM cores
• List of applications of ARM cores
• Comparison of ARMv8-A cores
• JTAG

References

1. "ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore". Arm.com. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
2. "Cortex-A9 Processor Specifications". ARM.
3. "White paper: The ARM Cortex-A9 Processors" (PDF). ARM.
4. "Cortex-A9 Single Core Processor". Arm.com. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
5. "ARM spins multicore-enabled Cortex core - News - Linux for Devices".
6. SoC FPGA overview, Altera
7. Mobile Internet Devices, Amlogic
8. "BCM11311 - Persona ICE Application Processor". Broadcom.
9. "EnergyCore™ ECX-1000: Technical Specifications". Calxeda. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
10. "High Performance, Dual-Core IP Set-top Box SoC". Entropic.
11. "Introducing the i.MX 6 Series". Freescale Semiconductor.
12. http://www.hisilicon.com
13. "HiSilicon Unveils Quad-Core Cortex A9 K3V2 Processor (Hi3620)".
14. Johnny Cullen (24 January 2011). "Sony outs tech specs for NGP". VG247. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
15. "Sony Playstation Vita Teardown & Product Analysis". TechInsights. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
16. "MediaTek - MT6575". MediaTek.
17. "MediaTek - MT6577". MediaTek.
18. "Computer System Chip". Nufront.
19. NXP to show the first fully integrated 45nm set top box soc based on ARM cortex - A9 processors
20. "Exynos 4210". samsung.com. 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
21. RK3066 Dual-Core Era is coming
22. SPEAr1310 Dual-core Cortex A9 embedded MPU for communications
23. SPEAr1340 Dual-core Cortex A9 embedded MPU for communications
24. ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500, ST-Ericsson, retrieved 19 February 2011
25. ST-Ericsson NovaThor U9500, ST-Ericsson, retrieved 25 September 2011
26. "AM437x Sitara Processors".
27. "WonderMedia Announces PRIZM WM8950 with Android 4.0 Support". 19 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
28. White Paper: Extensible Processing Platform (PDF)
29. ZiiLABS ZMS-20 Dual ARM Cortex A9 Media Processor
30. Introducing the i.MX 6 Series of Applications Processors (PDF)
31. Vivante GPU IP Cores Power the Latest Freescale i.MX 6 Series of Application Processors
32. Nufront 2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 for Desktop, Laptop and Netbook – NuSmart 2816
33. RZ A1H Home
34. RZ A1L Home
35. http://www.gizmochina.com/2012/12/05/review-of-rockchip-rk3166-quad-core-chipset/
36. SPEAr family of embedded microprocessors (PDF)
37. PNX8473
38. PNX8483
39. PNX849x
40. http://www.xilinx.com/products/silicon-devices/epp/zynq-7000/index.htm
41. NanoPi-2 wiki
42. NanoPi-2 Fire wiki
43. NanoPi M2 wiki
44. NanoPC-T2 wiki
45. OriginBoard Documents
46. Open Exynos4 Quad Mobile Development Platform
47. Odroid U3 Platform
48. Odroid Store
49. OMAP 4 Platform: OMAP4430/OMAP4460
51. Changing the game: ST-Ericsson Unveils NovaThor Family of Smartphone Platforms Combining its Most Advanced Application Processors with the Latest Generation of Modems
52. Trim-Slice Models
53. Radxa Rock specification

External links

ARM Holdings

• Official website
• ARM Cortex-A9 Technical Reference Manuals

Other

• White paper - The ARM Cortex-A9 Processors
• RISC vs. CISC in the mobile era
• TI OMAP4440 specs
• STMicroelectronics SPEAr1310 Data brief
• ARM Cortex-A9 lacks an integer hardware division instruction
• RM Cortex-A9
• Popular ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore & Multi-core processor videos, YouTube.
• ARM Assembly language