Atmel Introduces First Ultra-low Power ARM7-based MCU Series With 100nA Power-down Mode

Rousset, France (ots/PRNewswire) -

- ARM7-based 32-bit Flash MCU with Software Programmable Power
Switches and Voltage Scaling for Power-constrained Applications

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today a new series
of high-performance, ultra-low power ARM7TDMI(R)-based
microcontrollers, the AT91SAM7L series, embedding power switches
controlling multiple power islands and programmable voltage
regulators to reduce power consumption in active and standby modes.
There is a rapidly growing demand for more power efficient products
that is driven by a market trend towards environmentally friendly,
battery operated and portable products like media players, remote
controls, weather stations, calculators, toys, control panels,
thermostats and hand-held medical devices such as glucose meters,
blood pressure meters and fitness monitors. The demand for green
products is pushing manufacturers to consider low-power standby modes
even on products supplied by the power grid. The individual standby
power of audio or TV equipment is small at around 1 or 2 W per unit,
but the fact that billions of these are maintained in standby mode,
results in a total power consumption of thousands of megawatts.

Active and passive power control techniques. The AT91SAM7L series
features innovative power reduction techniques for both active and
standby modes. In active mode, the power consumption is optimized via
a programmable operating voltage, operating frequency, and peripheral
clock activity, and the use of DMA instead of the CPU for data
transfers. The SAM7L operates in single supply mode down to 1.8V and
consumes 0.5mA/MHz typical in active mode when executing code out of
its Flash memory. The power consumption in the different standby
modes is controlled via power switches, scalable voltage regulators,
and the use of sampling techniques on Voltage Monitors, Power On
Reset and Brown Out Detector instead of continuous measurement. This
provides a higher level of granularity than is available in competing
products, while achieving at least the same levels of power saving.
In power down mode, the AT91SAM7L consumes only a typical 100nA,
which is believed to be a unique feature for 32-bit MCUs.

Low power modes and fast wake-up. In Power Down mode, only the
Fast Wake-up (FWUP) pin is supplied, allowing a system wake-up
through a simple push button. This feature can be used to control
power on/off in applications such as calculators. In Backup mode,
only the supply controller, the zero-power POR and the 32kHz
oscillator remain running. The RTC, the 2K backup SRAM, the BOD, the
charge pump, the LCD voltage regulator and the LCD Controller can be
set on or off separately. This mode can be used when time, context or
display need to be saved even if the main application is not running.
In Wait mode, the 2MHz RC oscillator provides a rapid wake-up time
for fast external event management.

Segment LCD Controller. The AT91SAM7L128/64 embeds LCD features.
These include a Segment LCD Controller, built-in drivers and the
programmable LCD power supply for contrast control comprising a
regulated Charge Pump and an adjustable Voltage Regulator. It is
intended for monochrome passive liquid crystal displays (LCD) with up
to 10 common terminals and up to 40 segment terminals.

Choice of On-chip Flash and Extensive Peripheral Set. The
AT91SAM7L series has two members, the AT91SAM7L128 and the
AT91SAM7L64 with respectively 128k Bytes and 64k Bytes of Flash
memory. The AT91SAM7L series also integrates a wide range of
peripheral functions, including USART, SPI, Timer Counter, RTC and
Analog-to- Digital Converters. The AT91SAM7L128/64 System Controller
includes a Reset Controller capable of managing the power-on
sequence. Correct device operation can be monitored by a built-in
Brown Out Detector and a Watchdog Timer running off an integrated
oscillator. This complete set of system functions minimizes the
number of external components as the chip can run at maximum speed
without any external oscillator.

Development Tools and Real-Time Operating System Support. The
SAM7L is supplied with a low-cost Starter Kit, the AT91SAM7L-STK, and
runs the comprehensive set of application development tools that has
been built up over the years for Atmel's ARM(R)-based
microcontrollers.

Availability and Pricing. The AT91SAM7L128 and the AT91SAM7L64
are available now; packaged in a 128-pin LQFP package and a 144-pin
10x10mm 0.8mm ball pitch BGA package. Pricing is below US$4 in
volumes of 10,000 units.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of
microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory
and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's
broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is
able to provide the electronics industry with complete system
solutions focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications,
computing and automotive markets.

(C) 2008 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), logo
and combinations thereof, and others, are registered trademarks, or
trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. ARM(R),
ARM7TDMI(R) and others are registered trademarks or trademarks of ARM
Ltd. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Information:

Atmel's AT91SAM7L product information may be retrieved at
http://www.atmel.com/products/at91/default.asp

Press Contacts:
Peter Bishop, Communications Manager, Atmel Rousset
Tel: +33-0-4-42-53-61-50, Email: peter.bishop@atmel.com
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations
Tel: +1-408-487-2963, Email: hperlegos@atmel.com

Web site: http://www.atmel.com

ots Originaltext: Atmel Corporation
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Contact:
Peter Bishop, Communications Manager of Atmel Rousset,
+33-0-4-42-53-61-50, peter.bishop@atmel.com; or Helen Perlegos,
Public Relations of Atmel Corporation, +1-408-487-2963,
hperlegos@atmel.com