Embedded Processors

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Design application-specific modern processor architectures that are fit-for-purpose in embedded applications and optimised for size and performance

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Use modern FPGA synthesis tools to evaluate and verify designs, develop and test processor designs on an FPGA development platform

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Show a mature approach to the design, verification and evaluation of complex digital systems

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Embedded processor architecture design, including instruction set design, arithmetic hardware, instruction decoding, anchoring, /O multi-processing, modern industrial embedded processors such as ARM Cortex, Altera NIOS and Xilinx picoBlaze, picoMIPS

• Revision of RISC architecture principles
• Processor RTL hardware blocks
• Control path, Program Counter and Program Memory,
• Data path, ALU, Register files, caches, memories, synchronous RAM in processor designs
• Embedded hardware blocks, hardware multipliers, DSP blocks
• Instruction set and instruction decoder
• Performance analysis, design for low energy consumption
• Soft microprocessor cores
• Altera NIOS, Xilinx picoBlaze, ARM Cortex-M1, OpenRISC
• Application Specific PicoMIPS concept and examples
• Multi and many-core embedded processor system
• Application case studies

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.