Atmel
Encyclopedia
System-level solution
A system-level solution is a set of integrated circuits that work together to power an application such as a mobile telephone or digital media player. A special case of a system-level solution is a system-on-a-chip, where the entire functionality of the system is integrated into a single chip....
s built around flash
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
microcontrollers. Its products include microcontrollers (including 8051
Intel 8051
The Intel MCS-51 is a Harvard architecture, single chip microcontroller series which was developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems. Intel's original versions were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. While Intel no longer manufactures the MCS-51, binary compatible derivatives remain...
derivatives and AT91SAM
AT91SAM
AT91SAM are a family of Atmel chips based on the 32-bit RISC microprocessors from ARM. Some are targeted as applications processors, with external memory busses used to access RAM and flash, and large sets of integrated peripherals...
and AT91CAP
AT91CAP
AT91CAP is a family of Atmel microcontrollers based on the 32-bit RISC microprocessors from ARM. They include a block of metal-programmable logic gates that can be personalized by the application developer...
ARM-based micros), and its own Atmel AVR
Atmel AVR
The AVR is a modified Harvard architecture 8-bit RISC single chip microcontroller which was developed by Atmel in 1996. The AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip flash memory for program storage, as opposed to one-time programmable ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM used by other...
and AVR32
AVR32
The AVR32 is a 32-bit RISC microprocessor architecture designed by Atmel. The microprocessor architecture was designed by a handful of people educated at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, including lead designer Øyvind Strøm, PhD and CPU architect Erik Renno, M.Sc in Atmel's...
architectures, radio frequency
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
(RF) devices, EEPROM
EEPROM
EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices to store small amounts of data that must be saved when power is removed, e.g., calibration...
and flash memory devices (including DataFlash
DataFlash
DataFlash is a low pin-count serial interface for flash memory. It is an Atmel proprietary interface, compatible with the SPI standard.Information is written and read from a DataFlash chip using any microcontroller, such as the Atmel AVR, the Microchip PIC or the ARM...
-based memory), and a number of application-specific products. Atmel supplies its devices as standard products, ASIC
Application-specific integrated circuit
An application-specific integrated circuit is an integrated circuit customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use. For example, a chip designed solely to run a cell phone is an ASIC...
s, or ASSPs depending on the requirements of its customers. In some cases it is able to offer system on chip solutions.
Atmel serves a range of application segments including consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s, computer networking, industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, medical, automotive, aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
. It is an industry leader in secure systems, notably for the smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
market.
The President and CEO of Atmel is Steven Laub.
Atmel owns four semiconductor facilities:
- Fab5 in Colorado Springs (USA)
- Fab6 in HeilbronnHeilbronnHeilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
(Germany) (Sold) - Fab7 in RoussetRousset, Bouches-du-RhôneRousset is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France close to Aix-en-Provence.The town is known for its semiconductor area that groups Atmel and STMicroelectronics.-History:...
(France) (Sold) - Fab9 in North TynesideNorth TynesideThe Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England and is part of the Tyneside conurbation. Its seat is Wallsend Town Hall....
(England) (Sold)
History
Atmel Corporation was founded in 1984 and is based in San Jose, CA.Atmel introduced the first 8-bit flash microcontroller in 1993, based on the 8051 core.
In 1996, a design office was started in Trondheim, Norway, to work on the AVR series of products.
In March 2008, Atmel acquired Quantum Research Group ('QRG') located near Southampton England, in order to gain entry into the capacitive touch button and touch screen market. Founded by Hal Philipp in 1996, QRG focused on using standard microcontrollers pre-programmed as touch sensors, including devices sourced from several companies including Atmel. In acquiring QRG, Atmel also gained a substantial patent portfolio and customer list related to touch sensing. Of particular note are patents relating to touch screens using mutual capacitance, matrix-based sensing topologies. In acquiring QRG, Atmel also inherited an ongoing patent lawsuit that QRG had filed against Apple Inc. in 2005 alleging infringement of one of its charge-transfer based patents in the iPod click-wheel; the case was later settled. The acquired business unit still operates near Southampton UK. Today, QRG-based capacitive touch solutions using AVR microcontrollers form a large part of Atmel's product marketing efforts.
Atmel announced the sale of its North Tyneside
North Tyneside
The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England and is part of the Tyneside conurbation. Its seat is Wallsend Town Hall....
, (England) facility (Fab9) on October 8, 2007. The manufacturing equipment was sold to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (TSMC
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited or TSMC is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan.-Overview:...
) and the property and associated land to Highbridge Business Park Limited. The closure led to the loss of 600 jobs when production ceased in early 2008.
On 2 October 2008, Atmel CEO Steven Laub announced an unsolicited offer
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
from Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology is an American manufacturer of microcontroller, memory and analog semiconductors. Its products include microcontrollers , Serial EEPROM devices, Serial SRAM devices, KEELOQ devices, radio frequency devices, thermal, power and battery management analog devices, as well as...
and ON Semiconductor
ON Semiconductor
ON Semiconductor , is a semiconductors supplier company. Products include power and signal management, logic, discrete and custom devices for automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, LED lighting, medical, military/aerospace and power applications...
valued at 5 US$ per share. The offer was rejected and those companies eventually gave up their takeover attempt.
Fab 7 site in Rousset
Rousset, Bouches-du-Rhône
Rousset is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France close to Aix-en-Provence.The town is known for its semiconductor area that groups Atmel and STMicroelectronics.-History:...
, France has gone on an indefinite strike since the 17th November 2009 following earlier strikes between September 2008 and March 2009. The present issue concerns the future of fab 7 and the previously negotiated redundancy plans in March 2009 both which according to workers and unions will no longer be honored. Previous promises by fab 7 management such as challenge 750 in 2008 whereupon the fab had to reduce its cost per wafer from $1000 to $750 were indeed achieved by fab 7 with a concluding promise that if this was met then a large investment would be accorded to fab 7. An audit in August 2008 was followed by an announcement in Feb 2009 that ASIC production would cease in fab 7 and the site would be up for sale.
See also
- AT91SAMAT91SAMAT91SAM are a family of Atmel chips based on the 32-bit RISC microprocessors from ARM. Some are targeted as applications processors, with external memory busses used to access RAM and flash, and large sets of integrated peripherals...
, ARM/Cortex system on a chip - AT91CAPAT91CAPAT91CAP is a family of Atmel microcontrollers based on the 32-bit RISC microprocessors from ARM. They include a block of metal-programmable logic gates that can be personalized by the application developer...
, 32-bit ARM + gate array - Atmel AVRAtmel AVRThe AVR is a modified Harvard architecture 8-bit RISC single chip microcontroller which was developed by Atmel in 1996. The AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip flash memory for program storage, as opposed to one-time programmable ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM used by other...
, family of 8-bit microcontrollers - AVR32AVR32The AVR32 is a 32-bit RISC microprocessor architecture designed by Atmel. The microprocessor architecture was designed by a handful of people educated at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, including lead designer Øyvind Strøm, PhD and CPU architect Erik Renno, M.Sc in Atmel's...
, family of 32-bit microcontrollers - DataFlashDataFlashDataFlash is a low pin-count serial interface for flash memory. It is an Atmel proprietary interface, compatible with the SPI standard.Information is written and read from a DataFlash chip using any microcontroller, such as the Atmel AVR, the Microchip PIC or the ARM...
, Atmel proprietary DataFlash is a low pin-count serial interface flash memory. - ArduinoArduinoArduino is an open-source single-board microcontroller, descendant of the open-source Wiring platform, designed to make the process of using electronics in multidisciplinary projects more accessible. The hardware consists of a simple open hardware design for the Arduino board with an Atmel AVR...
, open hardware single-board prototyping platform using an AVR microcontroller. - ATmega88ATmega88The ATmega88 is an electronic integrated circuit microcontroller produced by the Atmel corporation. It has the basic Atmel AVR instruction set. One of the packaging configurations is the dual in-line package ....
, 8-bit microcontroller - Atmel At94k see also AVR instruction set