Atmel Introduces a New AVR Microcontroller Family; Four Members Target Very Low Cost With E2, Flash And Analog Features.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2001

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:ATML) announced today a new family of tinyAVR(R) microcontrollers featuring on chip Flash, EEPROM and analog capability. This new range of products includes the tiny11, tiny12, tiny15 and tiny28, all priced at less than a dollar in high volume. Low cost development tools including the STK500 starter kit and ICE200 in-circuit-emulator are available for development and evaluation. The same Flash based microcontroller can be used for design, prototype evaluation and volume production eliminating the need for ROM and OTP alternatives. Any program changes as a result of changes in standards, features or software updates can be made on the fly eliminating scrap associated with OTP or mask ROM.

There are four tinyAVR microcontrollers that target different applications. The rich set of on-chip peripherals reduce overall system cost by offering an ideal solution for many applications. Motor control, external logic and switch replacement can be implemented with the tiny11, which has 1-Kbyte of Flash program memory. Security and surveillance, remote keyless entry and industrial control applications can use the tiny12, which features a high accuracy internal RC oscillator and 64 Bytes of integrated EEPROM. Light ballast, battery chargers, smart battery packs and sensors need an analog interface. For these, the tiny15 is ideal because it includes a 4-channel 10-bit Analog to Digital Converter. These three tinyAVR devices are housed in 8-pin packages. The tiny28, with built in high current driver and programmable modulation, is a perfect selection for universal remote control with infrared LED. It has 2-Kbytes of Flash and is housed in a 28-pin package.

"Atmel's ability to integrate non-volatile memory, logic and analog blocks on the same chip creates highly integrated devices that allow end of the line system personalization. The operating and programming voltage can be as low as 1.8V, and the tinyAVR microcontrollers' high performance, low power and competitive cost make it ideal for embedded systems applications," said Jim Panfil, Atmel's director of Microcontroller Products. "With the ever-increasing pressure to reduce costs, designers will find these highly integrated devices very useful because they take up less board space and reduce inventory cost by allowing last minute design improvements without hardware changes. This makes time-to-market goals easier to reach."

The STK500 starter kit supports the tinyAVR family and includes parallel and high voltage serial programming capability. It also provides the capability to set and erase fuses and lock bits. All signal lines are connected to a port expander that gives the user the capability to build expansion boards to support their designs. This shortens development time. The STK500 supports all AVR devices that are housed in 8-pin, 20-pin, 28-pin and 40-pin PDIP packages and has a list price of $79.00.

About Atmel

Founded in 1984, Atmel Corporation is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe. Atmel designs, manufactures and markets worldwide, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and RF semiconductors. Atmel is also a leading provider of system-level integration semiconductor solutions using CMOS, BiCMOS, bipolar SiGe, and high-voltage BCDMOS process technologies.

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