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The NXP ColdFire is a
microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...
that derives from the
Motorola 68000 family The Motorola 68000 series (also known as 680x0, m68000, m68k, or 68k) is a family of 32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and w ...
architecture, manufactured for
embedded system An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is ''embedded'' as ...
s development by
NXP Semiconductors NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXP) is a Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company employs approximately 31,000 people in more than 30 countries. NXP reported revenue of $11.06 billion in 2 ...
. It was formerly manufactured by
Freescale Semiconductor Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. was an American semiconductor manufacturer. It was created by the divestiture of the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola in 2004. Freescale focused their integrated circuit products on the automotive, embed ...
(formerly the semiconductor division of
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
) which merged with NXP in 2015.


Instruction set

The ColdFire instruction set is "assembly source" compatible (by means of translation software available from the vendor) and not entirely object code compatible with the
68000 The Motorola 68000 (sometimes shortened to Motorola 68k or m68k and usually pronounced "sixty-eight-thousand") is a 16/32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, introduced in 1979 by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector ...
. When compared to classic 68k hardware, the instruction set differs mainly in that it no longer has support for the
binary-coded decimal In computing and electronic systems, binary-coded decimal (BCD) is a class of binary encodings of decimal numbers where each digit is represented by a fixed number of bits, usually four or eight. Sometimes, special bit patterns are used for ...
(BCD) packed data format; it removes a number of other, less used instructions; and most instructions that are kept support fewer
addressing mode Addressing modes are an aspect of the instruction set architecture in most central processing unit (CPU) designs. The various addressing modes that are defined in a given instruction set architecture define how the machine language instructions in ...
s. Also,
floating point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can be ...
intermediates are 64 bits and not 80 bits as in the 68881 and 68882
coprocessor A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (the CPU). Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating-point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, cryptography o ...
s. The instructions are only 16, 32, or 48 bits long, a simplification compared to the 68000 series.


Models

In February 1999, the
μClinux μClinux is a variation of the Linux kernel, previously maintained as a fork, that targets microcontrollers without a memory management unit (MMU). It was integrated into the mainline kernel as of 2.5.46; the project continues to develop patch ...
project's
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
kernel was ported to two ColdFire processors (MCF5206 and MCF5307). In 2006, the
Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...
project was looking into making its m68k port compatible with the ColdFires, as there are ColdFire models that can be clocked as high as 300 MHz. This is much faster than the
68060 The Motorola 68060 ("''sixty-eight-oh-sixty''") is a 32-bit microprocessor from Motorola released in 1994. It is the successor to the Motorola 68040 and is the highest performing member of the 68000 series. Two derivatives were produced, the 68L ...
, which can officially reach 75 MHz and can be overclocked to 110 MHz. Stallion Technologies ePipe,
Secure Computing Secure Computing Corporation (SCC) was a public company that developed and sold computer security appliances and hosted services to protect users and data. McAfee acquired the company in 2008. The company also developed filtering systems used ...
SnapGear
security appliance A security appliance is any form of server appliance that is designed to protect computer networks from unwanted traffic. Types of Security Appliances * Active devices block unwanted traffic. Examples of such devices are firewalls, anti virus sca ...
s, and
Arcturus Networks , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of ...
's System on Module products are based on ColdFire processors. There are ColdFire Linux-based
single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrati ...
s (SBC) with
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
and
CompactFlash CompactFlash (CF) is a flash memory mass storage device used mainly in portable electronic devices. The format was specified and the devices were first manufactured by SanDisk in 1994. CompactFlash became one of the most successful of the e ...
as small as 23×55 mm or 45×45 mm or based on CompactFlash (37×43 mm) itself. ColdFire based products have even been deployed to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
as an electronic nose project. There are five generations or versions of the ColdFire available from Freescale: * v1: Intended to support migration from 8-bit microcontrollers, it is a cut-down version of the v2 processor-wise. It was launched in 2006, 12 years after the original ColdFire. It is designed to easily replace the 8-bit
Freescale 68HC08 The 68HC08 (HC08 in short) is a broad family of 8-bit microcontrollers originally from Motorola Semiconductor, later from Freescale Semiconductor. HC08's are fully code-compatible with their predecessors, the Motorola 68HC05. Like all Motorola pr ...
microcontrollers and compete with low-end ARM chips. * v2: The original ColdFire core launched in 1994. Single-issue pipeline, no MMU, no FPU. Versions are also available with MAC and enhanced MAC units. * v3: Added an optional MAC unit. * v4: Limited
superscalar A superscalar processor is a CPU that implements a form of parallelism called instruction-level parallelism within a single processor. In contrast to a scalar processor, which can execute at most one single instruction per clock cycle, a sup ...
core. * v4e (or eV4 in some documents): Enhanced version of the v4, launched in 2000. Adds optional MMU, FPU, and enhanced MAC unit to the architecture. * v5: Fully superscalar core. There is also the Fido 1100, a microcontroller launched in 2007 aimed at predictable embedded control systems such as
Industrial Ethernet Industrial Ethernet (IE) is the use of Ethernet in an industrial environment with protocols that provide determinism and real-time control. Protocols for industrial Ethernet include EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, POWERLINK, SERCOS III, CC ...
applications using the 68k/CPU32 instruction set. However, Fido has its own unique architecture and shares the instruction set with 68k only. In November 2006, Freescale announced that ColdFire microprocessor cores were available for license as semiconductor Intellectual Property through their IP licensing and support partner IPextreme Inc. ColdFire v1 core is now available under Free license (and no per use royalty) for
Altera Altera Corporation was a manufacturer of programmable logic devices (PLDs) headquartered in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1983 and acquired by Intel in 2015. The main product lines from Altera were the flagship Stratix series, mid-rang ...
Cyclone-III FPGA's. In September 2007, Freescale launched the 32-bit Flexis microcontroller family with a ColdFire CPU core. In June 2010, Freescale announced the ColdFire+ line, which is a ColdFire V1 core using a 90 nm TFS technology. In 2010, Freescale also launched Kinetis, an
ARM In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between the ...
-based product line, leading some industry observers to speculate about the future of the ColdFire range, given that Freescale would have several competing CPU ranges.


See also

*
FlexOS 68K FlexOS is a discontinued modular real-time multiuser multitasking operating system (RTOS) designed for computer-integrated manufacturing, laboratory, retail and financial markets. Developed by Digital Research's Flexible Automation Business U ...
for ColdFire MCF5251 *
eCos The Embedded Configurable Operating System (eCos) is a free and open-source real-time operating system intended for embedded systems and applications which need only one process with multiple threads. It is designed to be customizable to preci ...
and
RTEMS Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS), formerly Real-Time Executive for Missile Systems, and then Real-Time Executive for Military Systems, is a real-time operating system (RTOS) designed for embedded systems. It is free and open ...
open source real-time operating systems


References


External links


NXP Semiconductor's Official ColdFire Site




of ColdFire based
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
clone an
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