Motorola's Secure M210 M-CORE Processor Licensed to Atmel; Advanced 32-Bit microRISC Controller Core to Provide Performance and Low-Power for Future Atmel Smart-Card Products.AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 1999--Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :MOT) Wednesday announced that its Secure M210 M-CORE(tm) microRISC controller core has been licensed by Atmel Corp. (Nasdaq:ATML ATML Automatic Test Markup Language ATML Automated Test Markup Language ) for development of a new line of high-performance, low-power embedded microcontroller A single chip that contains the processor (the CPU), non-volatile memory for the program (ROM or flash), volatile memory for input and output (RAM), a clock and an I/O control unit. products targeted at the smart-card industry. Atmel is licensing the technology from Motorola as part of its acquisition of the Smart Information Transfer (SIT) business from Motorola. Hector de J. Ruiz, Ph.D., president of Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, commented: "This concludes the transfer of our SIT business announced in January 1999. It will bring the smart-card- customer base compelling solutions delivered by Atmel, and will further enhance the proliferation proliferation /pro·lif·er·a·tion/ (pro-lif?er-a´shun) the reproduction or multiplication of similar forms, especially of cells.prolif´erativeprolif´erous pro·lif·er·a·tion n. of the M-CORE architecture into the marketplace." The Semiconductor Products Sector's decision to sell its SIT business in January, stems from Motorola's strategy to focus on key businesses in target markets to improve the value Motorola provides to its shareholders. At the same time, Motorola will remain strongly committed to the smart-card industry. "This planned transaction establishes Atmel as one of the world's leaders in the smart-card-IC industry, complementing Atmel's existing smart-card expertise," stated George Perlegos, Atmel's president and chief executive officer. "In addition, Motorola's SIT business will provide Atmel with a broad array of technologically advanced products, including their advanced security features and outstanding design and engineering capabilities. Combined with Atmel's established expertise, SIT's advanced technological competence will expand our existing technology base and have significant market potential." Due to the small size, low cost and limited power characteristics, smart-card control chips are normally constrained by small memory space and processing power, preventing customers from using smart cards Example of widely used contactless smart cards are Hong Kong's Octopus card, Paris' Calypso/Navigo card and Lisbon' LisboaViva card, which predate the ISO/IEC 14443 standard. The following tables list smart cards used for public transportation and other electronic purse applications. in more sophisticated applications. However, just as many other hardware devices are learning how to take advantage of the M-CORE architecture's memory savings, 32-bit performance and lower power, smart-card applications are beginning to follow the same technological evolution. This huge step forward, from 8-bits to 32-bits, will allow the use of smart cards in more and richer applications, strengthening its role as a key technology solution for information systems. "The M-CORE microRISC architecture offers the benefits of 32-bit RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. functionality in a small-footprint, low-power, memory-efficient architecture, which will allow Atmel to produce a device with an exceptionally small die," stated Jim Thomas Jim Thomas may refer to:
About Motorola As the world's No. 1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector offers multiple DigitalDNA(tm) solutions that enable its customers to create new business opportunities in the consumer, networking-and-computing, transportation, and wireless- communications markets. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $7.3 billion in l998. Visit the Semiconductor Products Sector's Web site at http://mot-sps.com/cgi-bin/my-mot/moto.cgi. Motorola is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 1998 were $29.4 billion. Motorola's Web site is located at http://www.motorola.com/. About Atmel With headquarters in San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif., and principal manufacturing facilities in Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. , Colo., and in Rousset, France, Atmel designs, develops, manufactures and markets on a worldwide basis Flash, EEPROMs and EPROMs, as well as programmable logic See PLD. , microcontrollers and application-specific devices. Atmel product and financial information can be retrieved from its Fax-on-Demand service. In North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , call 800/29-ATMEL (292-8635). Internationally, from a fax phone, call 408/441-0732. Or send requests by e-mail: literature@atmel.com, or visit Atmel's Web site at http://www.atmel.com/. NOTE: All tradenames, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. M-CORE is a trademark of Motorola Inc. |
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