RETRAM internal memory

Applicable for STM32MP15x lines

1 Article purpose[edit]

The purpose of this article is to:

  • briefly introduce the RETRAM internal memory peripheral and its main features,
  • indicate the peripheral instances assignment at boot time and their assignment at runtime (including whether instances can be allocated to secure contexts),
  • list the software frameworks and drivers managing the peripheral,
  • explain how to configure the peripheral.

2 Peripheral overview[edit]

The RETRAM internal memory is 64 Kbytes wide and is physically near to the Arm® Cortex®-M4 for optimized performance from the core. It is located in the VSW power domain, allowing it to be supplied during Standby low power mode, and to retain retention firmware that can be executed very quickly by the Cortex-M4 on wake up from Standby mode.

The Cortex-M4 firmware has to be loaded to the RETRAM , starting at address 0x00000000. At least, it must load the part of the firmware containing the vector table, since the Cortex-M4 reset entry point is address 0x00000004. The rest of the firmware code is loaded into the MCU SRAM. The overall memory mapping is shown in the platform memory mapping section.

While going to Standby low power mode, the RETRAM can remain supplied, so it can preserve a (small) Cortex-M4 piece of retention firmware that is executed on wake up when the ROM code (running on Cortex-A7) restarts the Cortex-M4.

Refer to the STM32MP15 reference manuals for the complete list of features, and to the software frameworks and drivers, introduced below, to see which features are implemented.

3 Peripheral usage[edit]

This chapter is applicable in the scope of the OpenSTLinux BSP running on the Arm® Cortex®-A processor(s), and the STM32CubeMPU Package running on the Arm® Cortex®-M processor.

3.1 Boot time assignment[edit]

3.1.1 On STM32MP15x lines More info.png[edit]

At boot time, The RETRAM internal memory can contain the Cortex-M4 firmware, but could also be dedicated tor some other usages.


Click on the right to expand the legend...

Check boxes illustrate the possible peripheral allocations supported by STM32 MPU Embedded Software:

  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given boot time context.
  • means that the peripheral is assigned by default to the given boot time context and that the peripheral is mandatory for the STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given boot time context, but this configuration is not supported in STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • is used for system peripherals that cannot be unchecked because they are hardware connected in the device.

The present chapter describes STMicroelectronics recommendations or choice of implementation. Additional possibilities might be described in STM32 MPU reference manuals.

Domain Peripheral Boot time allocation Comment
Instance Cortex-A7
secure
(ROM code)
Cortex-A7
secure
(TF-A BL2)
Cortex-A7
non-secure
(U-Boot)
Core/RAM RETRAM RETRAM

3.2 Runtime assignment[edit]

3.2.1 On STM32MP15x lines More info.png[edit]

At runtime the RETRAM can be allocated to:

  • the Cortex-M4 (default) for use with the STM32Cube MPU Package, either for runtime firmware that can be mapped in both RETRAM and MCU SRAM, or for retention firmware that only fits into the RETRAM ,

or

  • the Cortex-A7 secure to be used under OP-TEE,

or


Click on the right to expand the legend...

STM32MP15 internal peripherals

Check boxes illustrate the possible peripheral allocations supported by STM32 MPU Embedded Software:

  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given runtime context.
  • means that the peripheral is assigned by default to the given runtime context and that the peripheral is mandatory for the STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • means that the peripheral can be assigned to the given runtime context, but this configuration is not supported in STM32 MPU Embedded Software distribution.
  • is used for system peripherals that cannot be unchecked because they are hardware connected in the device.

Refer to How to assign an internal peripheral to an execution context for more information on how to assign peripherals manually or via STM32CubeMX.
The present chapter describes STMicroelectronics recommendations or choice of implementation. Additional possiblities might be described in STM32MP15 reference manuals.

Domain Peripheral Runtime allocation Comment
Instance Cortex-A7
secure
(OP-TEE)
Cortex-A7
non-secure
(Linux)
Cortex-M4

(STM32Cube)
Core/RAM RETRAM RETRAM Assignment to the Cortex-M4 if used

4 Software frameworks and drivers[edit]

The RETRAM is the minimum (and default) memory for the Cortex-M4 firmware.The software frameworks and component managing the RETRAM device to host the Cortex-M4 firmware are listed below.

5 How to assign and configure the peripheral[edit]

The peripheral assignment can be done manually.

  • In device trees generation for the OpenSTLinux software components:
  • In the linker script for the STM32CubeMPU Package.