AMULET is a series of microprocessors implementing the
ARM processor architecture. Developed by the ''Advanced Processor Technologies'' group at the
Department of Computer Science at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
(formerly the AMULET and PAL groups based at the same institution), AMULET is unique amongst ARM implementations in being an
asynchronous microprocessor, not making use of a
square wave
A square wave is a non-sinusoidal periodic waveform in which the amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimum and maximum values, with the same duration at minimum and maximum. In an ideal square wave, the transitions b ...
clock signal
In electronics and especially synchronous digital circuits, a clock signal (historically also known as ''logic beat'') oscillates between a high and a low state and is used like a metronome to coordinate actions of digital circuits.
A clock sign ...
for data synchronization and movement.
List of AMULET microprocessors
*AMULET1 — Designed in 1990 and first fabricated in 1993. Its estimated performance is approximately 70% of that of a comparably-sized synchronous ARM6 running at 20 MHz.
*AMULET2 — A re-implementation of AMULET1 first fabricated in 1996. Features on-chip memory that can be used either as processor cache or mapped RAM. The APT group estimates AMULET2 to have a similar power dissipation/performance ratio as ARM8. One very notable feature due to the asynchronous design is the drop of power dissipation to 3 μW when not in use (assuming the on-board timer, which handles DRAM refresh, is also inactive).
*AMULET3 — This was a redesigned architecture aiming at higher performance than the previous AMULET processors whilst retaining low power dissipation. Fabricated in 2000, it supported the ARM level 4 instruction set compatibility, alongside support for Thumb mode (i.e. ARM9TM). Performance and power dissipation were approximately the same as an ARM9 fabricated on the same technology. AMULET3 was employed in a commercial prototype
DECT device because of its inherent low
electromagnetic interference
Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...
characteristics. This did not go into manufacture for non-technical reasons.
The Advanced Processor Technologies Group
. Intranet.cs.man.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2013-06-14.
See also
*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 for computer processors, configured ...
References
External links
ARM Ltd.APT Group
ARM processors
Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester
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