Atmel Standardizes on DDR2 for 400 MHz, High Speed-USB-Enabled ARM9-Based Embedded MPUs

San Jose, California (ots/PRNewswire) -

- SAM9G45 ARM9-based Embedded MPU offers 480 Mbps EHCI-compliant
HS-USB with on-chip PHy, Ethernet and SDIO for high-speed
connectivity, plus LCD and Touch Sensing for intelligent UIs.

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today the release
of the SAM9G45, the first member of a series of 400 MHz ARM926
embedded MPUs that support second generation Dual Data Rate DRAM
(DDR2) and are optimized for industrial applications such as building
automation, data loggers, POS terminals, alarm systems and medical
equipment. Peripherals include EHCI-compliant high-speed USB with
on-chip PHy, dual EBI, 10/100 Ethernet MAC, LCD and Touchscreen
controller, programmable 1.8 or 3.3 V I/O supply voltage, and a high
data bandwidth architecture.

DDR2 to Replace SDRAM in Embedded Applications. Jacko Wilbrink,
Atmel's director of ARM(R) products explained, "The vast majority of
ARM9-based embedded MPUs support only SDRAM memories. The problem is
that memory availability is driven by the high-volume PC market and
SDRAM is basically obsolete for current generation PCs. DDR2 and DDR3
offer higher memory densities, higher performance, lower cost and
lower power consumption than SDRAM. That's where the market is going.
In response to the current economic crisis, many memory vendors are
literally shutting down their SDRAM fabs. We expect the supply of
SDRAM to dwindle in the foreseeable future. This poses a problem for
our customers.

"While the minimum external bus of 300 MHz required for DDR3 is
far too high for the majority of embedded MPUs," Mr. Wilbrink
continued, "DDR2 is a good option for designers. We believe that DDR2
is predestined to become the memory of choice for the industrial
embedded market, which is why Atmel is aggressively integrating DDR2
support in its ARM9(TM)-based MPUs. Our customers now can migrate
their next designs from SDRAM to DDR2, with the AT91SAM9G45 and
additional forthcoming DDR2-enabled MPUs."

Integrated power management with 1.8 or 3.3V supply voltage. Most
ARM9-based MPUs were originally developed for the mobile phone market
with a 1.8V supply voltage. In order to be used in industry
applications, which typically run at 3.3V, they require expensive
external power management ICs and level shifters. The SAM9G45 offers
integrated power management, slew rate control I/Os with programmable
1.8 or 3.3V voltage levels, in a 0.8mm ball pitch package to simplify
industrial control design and reduce cost.

High Connectivity and Support for intelligent UIs. With a
processor clock running at 400 MHz, twin parallel External Bus
Interfaces (EBI) supporting Dual Data Rate DRAM (DDR2) at 133 MHz and
integrating High Speed (480 Mbps) EHCI-compliant USB Host and Device
Ports with on-chip transceivers, Ethernet MAC, as well as two
interfaces for MMC 4.3 and SDIO/SDCard 2.0, together with an LCD
controller with resistive touch screen interface CMOS camera and
audio, the SAM9G45 is the ideal platform for embedded applications,
that demand high-bandwidth communications, high-density data storage
and modern graphical user interfaces.

Distributed Memory, DMA and Dual EBI for Optimal Data Bandwidth.
The 12-layer system bus matrix is linked to the Memory Management
Unit of the processor core, as well as 8 central DMA channels, 6
high-speed DMAs each dedicated to the video decoder, LCD controller,
USB host and device, Ethernet MAC, and image sensor Interface, 21
Peripheral DMA (PDC) channels, dual EBI and small blocks of on chip
distributed SRAM to ensure uninterrupted internal and external data
flows with minimum processor overhead. The high data speedway
architecture enables the SAM9G45 to perform 100Mpbs+ data transfers,
user interface rendering in parallel with computationally intensive
data processing.

Power Consumption. At 400 MHz and a 1.0V core supply, typical
power consumption is less than 300 uW/MHz. In backup mode with the
RTC and a timer running plus four 32-bit registers, the SAM9G45
consumes around 8 uA.

EHCI-compliant High Speed USB Host. Data rates of even tens of
Mbps are not high enough to provide the ever increasing sizes of log
files and the growing sophistication of user interfaces. The 480 Mbps
high-speed USB on the AT91SAM9G45 provides a well-understood,
easy-to-use vehicle to handle large amounts of data and
interconnection both between systems and between the printed circuit
boards (PCBs) inside a system. The SAM9G45 USB Host is fully
compliant to the EHCI and OHCI standards that guarantee straight
forward porting of proven USB host drivers to the AT91SAM9G45.

Comprehensive Eco-system. The SAM9G45 is fully supported by the
worldwide ecosystem of industry-leading suppliers of development
tools, operating systems and protocol stacks, including Linux(R)
distributions, Windows(R) Embedded CE, Mentor Graphics(R), Fluffy
Spider Technology, QNX(R), Micrium(R), IAR(R), Keil(R), Segger(R),
Adeneo(R), and TimeSys(R).

Availability and Pricing

Samples of the SAM9G45 are available now. Production is scheduled
for Q4 2009, priced at US$8.60 in quantities of 10k units, under the
order code AT91SAM9G45-CU.

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) 2009 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), Atmel
logo and combinations thereof and others, are registered trademarks
or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. ARM(R) is a
registered trademark of ARM Ltd. Mentor Graphics(R) is a registered
trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Windows(R) is a registered
trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Linux(R) is a registered
trademark of Linus Torvalds. Other terms and product names may be
trademarks of others.

Information:
Atmel's AT91SAM product information may be retrieved at:
http://www.atmel.com/sam9g45
A Windows CE BSP for the SAM9G45 is available from
http://www.at91.com/Windows4SAM
A Linux BSP for the SAM9G45 is available from www.linux4sam.org
Press Contacts:
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations
Tel: +1-408-487-2963, Email: helen.perlegos@atmel.com
Peter Bishop, Communications Manager, Atmel Rousset
Tel: +33-(0)-4-42-53-61-50, Email: peter.bishop@atmel.com

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Contact:
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations of Atmel, +1-408-487-2963,
helen.perlegos@atmel.com, or Peter Bishop, Communications Manager,
Atmel Rousset, +33-(0)-4-42-53-61-50, peter.bishop@atmel.com