ARM Cortex-M0 Overview

Cortex-M0 Overview

The ARM Cortex-M0 processor is the smallest, lowest power and most energy-efficient ARM processor available.  The exceptionally small silicon area, low power and minimal code footprint of the processor enables developers to achieve 32-bit performance at an 8-bit price point, bypassing the step to 16-bit devices. The ultra low gate count of the Cortex-M0 processor also enables it to be deployed in analog and mixed signal devices

The lowest power, smallest ARM processor

The code density and energy efficiency benefits of Cortex-M0 mean that it is a natural and cost effective successor to 8/16-bit devices in a wide variety of applications, while retaining tool and binary upwards compatibility with the feature-rich Cortex-M3 processor.

Ultra low power

The Cortex-M0 processor, which consumes as little as 3 µW/MHz (0.003 mW) in an area of under 12 K gates, builds on the unrivalled expertise of ARM as a leader in low-power technology and a key enabler for the creation of ultra low-power devices.

Simplicity

With just 56 instructions it is possible to quickly master the entire Cortex-M0 instruction set if desired; but its C friendly architecture means this is not a necessity. The option for fully deterministic instruction and interrupt timing makes it easy to calculate response times.

Optimized connectivity

Designed to support low power connectivity such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), IEEE 802.15 and Z-wave, particularly in analog devices which are increasing their digital functionality to pre-process and communicate data efficiently.