Atmel Introduces AVR Microcontrollers for Automotive Motor Control Applications

San Jose, California (ots/PRNewswire) -

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today the
availability of a new family of AVR(R) 8-bit microcontrollers
dedicated to motor control applications for automotive. The
ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1 are the first devices developed for the
control of sensor and sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motors for
automotive applications.

With an increasing number of motors inside a car, automotive
manufacturers need smaller and lighter motors with higher torque than
brush motors. They are now moving to BLDC motors that require more
sophisticated electronic devices to precisely control speed and
torque. This brings new challenges; among them is high temperature --
150 degrees Celsius -- for some applications under the hood.

The ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1 have been developed to serve that
need and provide an integrated solution for advanced motor control
applications with CAN and LIN connectivity. Thanks to the
collaboration with Vector, the leading manufacturer of software tools
and software components for automotive networking, a complete
hardware and software networking solution is available.

Window lift motor with anti-pinch brings a good example of the
requirement. Breaking assistance, steering wheel assistance,
ventilation, cooling, sliding doors are other examples. Finally, a
new category on its own is the admission control and turbo charger
control for which the motor and possibly its controller is exposed to
elevated temperature over the standard 125 degrees Celsius (typically
150 degrees).

Based on the high performance AVR 8-bit RISC architecture, the
ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1, integrate all of the basic peripherals
necessary to satisfy the needs of complex algorithms. Integrating
analog blocks like 10-bit ADC, with differential amplifiers and
programmable gain options, Analog comparators with selectable
comparison levels, interrupt on pin change I/Os. The microcontrollers
provide all necessary resources to control BLDC motors in their
system environments.

The ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1 include independent positive and
negative comparator inputs to allow sensorless motor control with no
external active components. Three individual comparators are
available for back Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) measurements. An
additional comparator is available for over-current detection. Its
reference (comparison level) can be fixed via the DAC output or any
external reference voltage. Clocked up to 64-MHz, the 12-bit
versatile synchronous Power Stage Controller generates 6
complementary programmable high speed and precision signals to
control a motor's 3 half bridges. The maximum frequency is 64 kHz,
with a resulting voltage resolution of about 1/1000. Hardware fault
detection will automatically and immediately put the motor in a safe
position in case a failure is detected.

About 2 Kbytes of Flash (20 bytes of SRAM) is necessary for the
low level drivers for the PSC. Typical code size for BLDC sensor
drive is about 2.7 Kbytes of Flash (about 350 bytes of SRAM). BLDC
sensorless drive is about 3 Kbyte of Flash and 300 bytes of SRAM.
With integrated hardware routines, the code size for LIN is reduced
to about 1 Kbyte of Flash. The code size of a CAN stack is about 16
Kbytes to 24 Kbytes Flash. For applications that may require more
code, a 64 Kbytes version will be introduced later in 2008.

ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1 offer a unique feature combination to
safely and securely run any brushless DC motor via the appropriate
driver and power elements. Effective Power stage controller and
integrated analog functions generate a limited number of interrupts,
reducing the code size and improving the real-time behavior of the
applications.

Vector CAN and LIN Drivers -- "One of the critical requirements
for using embedded processors in the automotive market is the
availability of an effective and well-supported communication stack
on CAN and LIN," said Michel Passemard, Automotive Tactical Marketing
Director of Atmel's Microcontroller Business Unit. "The availability
of the Vector CAN & LIN drivers for the ATmega16/32M1 processor paves
the way for a much broader use of Atmel's solutions in the automotive
market."

Vector has developed the CAN and LIN drivers for the Atmel
ATmega16/32M1 microcontroller family. These CAN and LIN drivers will
support communication packages for all Automotive OEMs. The CAN and
LIN drivers and associated configuration and generation tools are
available. The CAN OEM-specific Communication packages, including
network management, transport protocol, diagnostics, and interaction
layers, are available upon request. The LIN communication packages,
available also on request, support all protocol versions in master or
slave configurations, including transport and/or diagnostics layers.

Development Tools -- Atmel's AVR Studio(R) and AVR JTAGICE mkII,
provide a multiplatform integrated development environment (IDE). The
STK(R)524 and STK600 with STK600-TQFP32 add-on starter kits are
available to start development. The AVRMC320 Motor Control evaluation
kit is also available.

Availability and Pricing -- A version with limited features is
also made available: ATmega32C1 -- without PSC, dedicated to CAN and
LIN applications. Samples of the ATmega32M1 and ATmega32C1 are now
available. They are packaged in a 32-pin QFP/QFN. ATmega32C1,
ATmega16M1 and ATmega32M1 will be qualified at 125 degrees Celsius
and 150 degrees Celsius and available for volume production in August
2008. Prices start at US$2.34, US$2.34 and US$2.52 respectively in
10,000 quantities for the 125 degrees Celsius qualified version.

The ATmega64M1, with 64 Kbytes Flash will be introduced in 3Q of
2008.

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, AVR(R), STK(R) and others, are registered
trademarks, or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Information:

For further information on AVR Automotive microcontrollers, go
to: http://www.atmel.com/products/automcu/

For further information on Vector, go to:
http://www.vector-worldwide.com

Press Contacts:
Philippe Faure, Marketing Communications Director -- Microcontrollers
Tel: +33-2-40-18-18-87, Email: philippe.faure@atmel.com
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations
Tel: +1-408-487-2963, Email: hperlegos@atmel.com
Web site: http://www.atmel.com
http://www.vector-worldwide.com

ots Originaltext: Atmel Corporation
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Contact:
Philippe Faure, Marketing Communications Director --
Microcontrollers, +33-2-40-18-18-87, philippe.faure@atmel.com, or
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations, +1-408-487-2963,
hperlegos@atmel.com, both of Atmel Corporation