The ARM Cortex-A is a family of

ARM architecture ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer, RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for central processing unit, com ...

processor cores developed by

Arm Holdings Arm Holdings plc (formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England, whose primary business is the design of central processing ...

. Designed for application-level computing, Cortex-A cores are widely used in devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and embedded systems. Cortex-A processors include both

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in a maximum of 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform la ...

and

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing units (CPU) and arithmetic logic units (ALU) are those that are based on processor registers, a ...

designs. Most 32-bit cores implement the ARMv7-A architecture profile. All 64-bit Cortex-A cores implement the ARMv8-A profile, which supports both 64-bit and, in some cases, 32-bit execution. The Cortex-A series is distinct from Arm's Cortex-R and Cortex-M families, which are optimized for real-time and low-power applications, respectively. Unlike the other two families, the Cortex-A series supports a

memory management unit A memory management unit (MMU), sometimes called paged memory management unit (PMMU), is a computer hardware unit that examines all references to computer memory, memory, and translates the memory addresses being referenced, known as virtual mem ...

(MMU) required by many modern operating systems.

Overview

Licensing and customization

does not produce or sell physical processors. Instead, it licenses its processor designs to other companies, which integrate them into custom chips. Licensees receive a synthesizable hardware description of the core—typically written in

Verilog Verilog, standardized as IEEE 1364, is a hardware description language (HDL) used to model electronic systems. It is most commonly used in the design and verification of digital circuits, with the highest level of abstraction being at the re ...

—along with a software development toolkit and the rights to produce and sell chips containing the ARM architecture. This licensing model allows chip designers to customize the processor core to meet specific performance, power efficiency, or size requirements. Manufacturers can add proprietary features, optimize for higher clock speeds or lower power consumption, and configure the core to suit a wide range of applications. The exact configuration of an ARM-based chip varies by manufacturer and can be determined by consulting datasheets and reference manuals.

Instruction sets

Cortex-A cores implement several versions of the ARM architecture, reflecting their generation and feature set. Older models such as the Cortex-A5, A7, A8, A9, A12, A15, and A17 are based on the ARMv7-A architecture. Newer 32-bit and 64-bit cores—including the Cortex-A32, A34, A35, A53, A57, A72, and A73—use the ARMv8-A architecture, which introduced support for exclusive load and store instructions used in synchronization. Later cores such as the Cortex-A55, A65, A75, A76, A77, and A78 implement ARMv8.2-A. The most recent designs, including the Cortex-A510, A710, A715, A520, and A720, are based on the ARMv9-A and ARMv9.2-A architectures.

Technical documentation

Documentation for ARM-based processors is typically organized in several layers. At the top level are high-level marketing materials and datasheets provided by the chip manufacturer, which describe the specific system-on-chip (SoC) and its capabilities. More detailed reference manuals outline the chip’s peripherals and system integration features. At the core level, Arm publishes reference manuals for each Cortex-A processor, covering implementation details and supported features.ARMv7-A Architecture Reference Manual; ARM Holdings.
/ref> For a deeper understanding of the underlying instruction sets and architecture, Arm’s architecture reference manuals provide a comprehensive technical specification. Additional documentation, such as evaluation board guides, application notes, and errata, is often provided by manufacturers to support development and deployment.

Overview

Licensing and customization

Instruction sets

Technical documentation

See also

References

External links