ST Microelectronics ARM Cortex Seminar Series

9 October 2009 by Mark Moran, Joral Technologies

Recently, ST Microelectronics commenced hosting a series of seminars to acquaint developers with their STM32 line of microcontrollers. These microcontrollers known the ARM Cortex M3, are based on the ARMv7-M architecture. This architecture features a 3 stage pipeline, the Thumb-II instruction set which supplants the requirement for the ARM/Thumb mix, optional memory protection unit, and the new highly integrated NVIC vector interrupt controller. This core is specifically designed to reduce cost, consume less power, and lend itself to high degrees of peripheral integration. Clock speeds run upwards to 100MHz where it can achieve execution rates of 125DMIPS.

According to one major vendor of embedded RTOS and middleware, the M3 architecture has been one of the most popularly requested ports during the summer of 2009. Developers that I have spoken to are very impressed by the capabilities of the M3 implementations appearing on the market, especially when the cost is weighed against that of older 8 and 16 bit solutions. ARM itself is also promoting the Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) which is a vendor independent hardware abstraction layer. As stated on the ARM web site, “The CMSIS enables consistent and simple software interfaces to the processor for interface peripherals, real-time operating systems, and middleware, simplifying software re-use, reducing the learning curve for new microcontroller developers and reducing the time to market for new devices.” This means that developers new to this architecture have a powerful software resource for creating device drivers, a process that often inhibits the adoption of a new part. See: http://www.arm.com/products/CPUs/CMSIS.html for more details.

So, how does an embedded developer learn about Cortex M3 architecture in detail? There is no shortage of learning resource available on the Web. Sometimes however, you want a more interactive approach. Enter the ST seminar series. The bad news is that the series already started, kicking off last week in Whippany New Jersey before migrating to Boston MA and on to Los Angeles and San Diego CA. The good news is that there are a lot of venues left between now and November 10 when it wraps up in Santa Clara CA. See the entire remaining schedule here:

http://www.st.com/stonline/domains/seminars/stm32_connectivity_seminar.htm

Further good news is that this seminar is extremely well organized, packed full of useful information, and presented by extremely knowledgeable FAEs whose expertise in Cortex M3 is obvious. When you are embarking on the complex and sometimes intimidating task of picking a microcontroller architecture for a project, you want to know where the product family is now, and where it is going in the future. They will show you a complete road map at the ST seminar. Additionally, you have access to a highly qualified FAE for 6+ hours telling you all the kinds of things you need to know about the part, and you can ask all the questions you want in the bargain This is invaluable.

Listening to the questions from the audience at the Whippany seminar, it was very interesting how many important insights and little-known information emerged from these dialogs. Not everything you want to know is in the technical marketing literature or the data sheets. Sometimes the “inside scoop” is only obtainable from someone who has the experience that comes from working with the part for a while. These guys have been there, done that and have the T-shirt. Another intangible is that other folks in the audience are asking questions as well, and frequently touching on things you might not think to ask, but later on you wish you did. Lots of knowledge changes hands in these kinds of forums.

Here is a look at the schedule for the day:

8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 12:00 Introduction to the STM32 Family of 32-bit MCUs

STM32 Cortex-M3 core

STM32 Connectivity peripherals

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch Served

1:00 – 2:30

STM32 Connectivity firmware libraries

STM32 third-party software stacks (USB & TCP/IP)

STM32 evaluation and development kits

Arrive a little early and you can nosh on a pastry and coffee from the well appointed continental breakfast while perusing the extensive roundup of technical literature that they have compiled onto a 2GB thumb (All the slides you will see during the presentation will be on that drive, and it is yours to keep!). At lunch, you will enjoy a decent meal, and have the opportunity to compare notes with your colleagues or informally quiz the ST personnel and their business partners.

Nowadays, with staffing levels being what they are, it is hard for a developer who anticipates using a relatively small quantity of parts to get a lot of attention from a chipmaker FAE. The brutal calculus of today’s economy dictates that only the big consumers enjoy a lot of quality face time from the vendor’s technical staff. Here is a terrific opportunity to get a working day’s worth of know-how and inside tips on what could be a make-or-break component of your next design. You learn lots of good stuff, eat well, have the opportunity to develop important contacts, and an extra thumb drive never is bad to have. Odds are pretty good that you will win one of their cool door prizes at the end of the seminar raffle. What’s not to like?