Atmel Offers megaAVR picoPower With 128 KB of Flash for Ultra-Low-Power Applications

SAN JOSE, California -

- ATmega1284P reduces design footprint by doubling flash and quadrupling RAM size compared to existing picoPower megaAVR microcontrollers

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) today announced the availability of a 128 KB picoPower(R) megaAVR(R) microcontroller, targeting size-constrained, low-power applications. The small 44-pin package makes the ATmega1284P ideal for applications such as wireless and ethernet nodes, home automation and other code-intensive battery or signal-line powered products, combined with its ultra-low-power consumption, 128 KB of flash and 16 KB of random access memory (RAM).

“With 16 KB of SRAM, Atmel’s ATmega1284P now targets low-power applications that traditionally need external SRAM,” said Ingar Fredriksen, AVR Product Marketing Director of Atmel Corporation. “By removing the external SRAM and address latch, the ATmega1284P significantly reduces the bill-of-material, manufacturing cost, complexity and development time for our designers to bring their products to market.”

The ATmega1284P is pin- and feature-compatible to the ATmega164PA, ATmega324PA, and ATmega644PA. The four devices provide a drop-in migration path from 16 to 128 KB of flash and 1 to 16 KB of RAM. The ATmega1284P consumes 100 nA in power-down mode, 700 nA in power-save mode and 0.45 mA in active mode at 1.8 V and 1 MHz.

The ATmega1284P is now available as a standalone product. The product is also available in Atmel’s RZRAVEN evaluation and starter kits and in wireless bundles.

RZRAVEN Evaluation and Starter Kit

The large flash and RAM, low pin count, and ultra-low power consumption makes the ATmega1284P a popular device for designers. The RZRAVEN kit enables development, debugging and demonstration of a wide range of low power wireless applications, including IEEE802.15.4, 6LoWPAN and ZigBee.

ATmega in Wireless Bundles

High RAM-to-flash ratios are normally associated with 32-bit microcontrollers. However, with picoPower technology and the efficient AVR central processing unit (CPU), the ATmega1284P is designed for applications that require extremely low power consumption. These applications can range from ZigBee self-powered light switches, to ZigBee Smart Energy-compliant water and gas meters that are being deployed worldwide and demand several years of maintenance free operation on a single battery. The ATmega1284P is also an ideal companion for Atmel’s wireless AT86RF212, AT86RF230 and AT86RF231 transceivers for other wireless bundles.

Availability and Pricing

Samples of the ATmega1284P are available now. The device has a suggested retail price of US$3.31 in 10K quantities.

ATmega1284, a non-picoPower version of the ATmega1284P, will be available in Q4 2009.

More Information

All communication stacks implemented on the ATmega1284P are available for free download at www.atmel.com/wireless.

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, AVR(R), megaAVR(R), picoPower(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:

Atmel’s Atmega1284P product information may be retrieved at www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?PN=ATmega1284P

For further information on AVR picoPower, go to www.atmel.com/products/AVR/picopower/.

Press Contacts: Clive Over, Director of Public Relations Tel: +1-408-436-4305, Email: clive.over@atmel.com

Source: Atmel Corporation

Clive Over, Director of Public Relations of Atmel Corporation, +1-408-436-4305, clive.over at atmel.com