Atmel's New AT90SC256144RCFT Secure Microcontroller Targets e-Government Applications

San Jose, California, November 7 (ots/PRNewswire) -

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a global leader in the
development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions,
announced today the introduction of its new AT90SC256144RCFT, a
dual-interface secure microcontroller tailored to efficiently serve
the high-end electronic identity markets.

The AT90SC256144RCFT is a dual-interface contact (ISO7816) and
contactless (ISO/IEC14443) smartcard chip that is compliant with the
new International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) specifications
for e-passports. This product has been designed to meet common
criteria EAL5+ security certification (BSI protection profile).

The AT90SC256144RCFT features 144 Kbytes of EEPROM data memory,
256 Kbytes of ROM program memory, an additional 32 Kbytes of ROM for
crypto library and 8 Kbytes of RAM. Its large EEPROM nonvolatile
memory provides sufficient capacity to allow large data storage such
as ten fingertip images of the passport holder (around 10
Kbytes/image), leaving enough space for other data (photo holder,
encryption keys, etc.). The ROM and RAM sizes, combined with the
computing power of the secureAVR(TM) architecture, make this chip
perfectly suited for JavaCard(TM) implementation.

John Bryant, Vice President of Marketing commented, "We strongly
believe that the AT90SC256144RCFT product will bring significant
value to this market by improving the speed during the control of
personal identity as well as the security and privacy of e-ID
bearers."

The AT90SC256144RCFT shares the same common features with Atmel's
secureAVR family including its outstanding 8-bit/16-bit RISC core,
strong security mechanisms, a power-analysis attack- resistant
DES/TripleDES engine, as well as Atmel's AdvX(TM) crypto-accelerator
for an optimized trade-off between performance and power consumption.
Thanks to its high performance, it allows extremely fast extended
access control implementations. This product can be delivered with
on-chip tuning capacitance options, ranging from 20 pF to 100 pF, to
cope with different antenna technologies.

Availability

AT90SC256144RCFT samples are available now. Production will start
in Q1 of 2007.

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, Atmel ICs can be found Everywhere
You Are(R).

NOTE: Atmel(R), logo and combinations thereof, Everywhere You
Are(R), and others are registered trademarks, secureAVR(TM) and
others are trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other
terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Information:

For further information on the secureAVR(TM) family, go to:
http://www.atmel.com/products/SecureAVR .

Press Contacts:
Carine Bourgon, Communications Manager - Rousset
Phone: (+33)4-42-53-60-52, Email: carine.bourgon@rfo.atmel.com
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations - USA and Asia Pacific Rim
Phone: (+1)408-487-2963, Email: hperlegos@atmel.com
Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager - Europe
Phone: (+33)1-30-60-70-68, Fax: +49-71-31-67-24-23
Email: veronique.sablereau@atmel.com

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

ots Originaltext: Atmel Corporation
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Carine Bourgon, Communications Manager - Rousset, +33-4-42-53-60-52,
or carine.bourgon@rfo.atmel.com, or Helen Perlegos, Public Relations
- USA and Asia Pacific Rim, +1-408-487-2963, or hperlegos@atmel.com,
or Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager - Europe,
+33-1-30-60-70-68, or fax, +49-71-31-67-24-23, or
veronique.sablereau@atmel.com