Atmel looks back at Q1 2014 wins and launches

Yesterday, Atmel execs detailed the company’s Q1 2014 highlights. Key launches, collaborative projects and product wins spanned multiple markets, including:

Winning with maXTouch (smartphones) – LG’s G Pro 2, G2 Mini and L Series 3 L90; Verizon’s Lucid 3, Xiaomi’s RedRice 5.5″, Gionee’s Elife S5.5 and ZTE’s Grand S Lite.

Winning with maXTouch (Android and Windows 8 tablets) – Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 4 10.1,” Galaxy Tab 12.2,” Galaxy Note 12.2″ and HP’s EliteBook 1000 G2.

Collaborating with Corning – Developing ultra-thin, next-generation capacitive touchscreens using Gorilla Glass and XSense.

Working with Mentor Graphics – Accelerating development of next-gen IoT devices using Atmel’s ARM-based Cortex M3 and M4 based microcontrollers under the auspices of the Embedded Nucleus Innovate Program.

Launching maXTouch 1066T and 1068T – Extending product leadership in the large screen capacitive touch market with devices targeted at 7″ – 8.9″ high performance tablets.

Introducing the new automotive maXTouch S lineup – Targeting touchscreens up to 14″ in center consoles, navigation systems, radio interfaces and rear-seat entertainment systems.

Debuting the SmartConnect platform – Integrating Atmel’s ultra-low power microcontrollers (MCUs) and wireless connectivity solutions into turnkey solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Introducing new low-power ARM Cortex M0+ microcontrollers (SAM D21, D10 and D11) – Offering Atmel’s peripheral event system, support for capacitive touch button, slider and wheel user interfaces, multiple serial communications modules, along with a full-speed USB interface, as well as additional pin and memory combinations.

Unveiling new $79 SAMA5D3 Xplained evaluation kit – Providing a low-cost, fast prototyping and evaluation platform for microprocessor-based design built around Atmel’s SAMA5D3 ARM Cortex-A5 processor-based MPU.

Xplaining 8-bit development– Offering a development board for Makers and engineers based on Atmel’s 8-bit AVR technology.

Launching the ATPL230A – Introducing a Power Line Communications (PLC) modem designed to implement the physical layer of the PRIME standard (Power Line Intelligent Metrology Evolution).

Rolling out Atmel Studio 6.2 – Upgrading the popular integrated development environment for Atmel AVR and ARM based microcontrollers.

Ramping up with LIN – Extending Atmel’s automotive in-vehicle networking leadership position with the launch of next-generation, low-power local interconnect networking (LIN) systems.

Atmel celebrates 50 billion with ARM

ARM – which employs over 2,000 people around the globe – has billions of RISC-based processors in the wild and powers approximately 95% of the world’s smartphones. Recently, the British company marked a major milestone: 50 billion ARM-powered chips shipped.

Commenting on the milestone, Reza Kazerounian, Senior Vice President of Microcontrollers at Atmel, noted that ARM helps embedded developers significantly accelerate the development cycle by offering access to standard cores and an extensive ecosystem, including software and reference designs.

Kazerounian also said the next 100 billion chips will likely be led by intelligent connectivity, primarily in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT).

As we’ve previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel offers an extensive portfolio of microcontrollers (MCUs) and microprocessors (MPUs) based on the world’s most popular 8- and 32-bit architectures: Atmel AVR and ARM. Indeed, Atmel’s two decades of microcontroller leadership and innovation include many industry-firsts:

• The first Flash microcontroller, the first ARM7-based 32-bit Flash microcontroller
• The first 100nA microcontroller with RAM retention
• The first ARM9-based Flash microcontroller

“In order to simplify the embedded design process, we’ve meticulously built a robust ecosystem around our ARM microcontrollers,” an Atmel engineering rep told Bits & Pieces. ”Meaning, Atmel offers a wide range of software tools and embedded software that support leading operating systems, along with low-cost evaluation kits.”

In addition, Atmel’s flexible and highly integrated ARM-based MCUs are designed to optimize system control, user interface (UI) management and ease of use. That’s why our ARM Cortex-M3 and M4 based architectures share a single integrated development platform (IDP): Atmel Studio 6. This platform offers time-saving source code with more than 1,600 example projects, access to debuggers/simulators, integration with Atmel QTouchtools for capacitive touch applications and the Atmel Gallery online apps store where embedded software extensions can be downloaded.

Meanwhile, Atmel ARM-based MPUs range from entry-level devices to advanced highly-integrated devices with extensive connectivity, refined interfaces and ironclad security.

“Whether you are working on new, existing or legacy designs, a wide range of Atmel ARM-based devices provides the latest features and functionality. These devices also feature the lowest power consumption, a comprehensive set of integrated peripherals and high-speed connectivity,” the engineering rep added.

Interested in learning more about Atmel’s extensive ARM portfolio? You can check out our ARM MCUs here and our ARM MPUs here.

The Atmel-ARM connection

Atmel currently offers the broadest portfolio of MCUs (microcontroller units) based on the two most popular 8- and 32-bit architectures – AVR and ARM. 

“Flexible, highly integrated Atmel ARM-based MCUs are designed to optimize system control, user interface (UI) management and ease of use,” Atmel Digital Marketing Manager Tom Vu told Bits & Pieces.

“Indeed, the ARM Cortex-M3 and M4 based architectures share a single integrated development platform (IDP)—Atmel Studio 6. This platform provides time-saving source code with more than 2,000 example projects, access to debuggers/simulators, integration with Atmel QTouch tools for capacitive touch applications and access to the Atmel Gallery online apps store for embedded software or extensions.”

Vu also noted that Atmel’s ARM-based MPUs range from entry-level devices to advanced integrated devices with extensive connectivity, refined interfaces and a plethora of security options.

“Whether you are working on new, existing or legacy designs, a wide range of Atmel ARM-based devices provides the latest features and functionality. These devices also feature the lowest power consumption, a comprehensive set of integrated peripherals and high-speed connectivity,” he added.

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, Atmel’s SAM4 and SAMA5D3 ARM-based MCUs are used to power a number of industrial and consumer devices including thermostats, remote process control nodes, smart glucose meters, gateway concentrators, bar-code scanners and portable outdoor equipment.

Earlier this week, Atmel rolled out its SAM D20 MCU, a comprehensive product lineup based on ARM’s Cortex -M0+. Essentially, the new microcontroller series combines the performance and energy efficiency of an ARM Cortex-M0+ based MCU with an optimized architecture and peripheral set and 8-bit AVR for ease of use – enabling Atmel to reach new markets.

According to Atmel engineering manager Bob Martin, the SAM D20 offers a “truly differentiated” general-purpose lineup that is ideal for a wide range of low-power, cost-sensitive devices, including GPS trackers, appliance controllers, intelligent remotes and optical transceivers.

“The SAM D20’s power-saving techniques include an event system that allows peripherals to communicate directly with each other without involving the CPU, while SleepWalking peripherals wake up the CPU only upon a pre-qualified event, reducing overall power consumption,” Martin told Bits & Pieces.

“In terms of peripheral flexibility, a serial communication module (SERCOM) is fully software configurable to handle I2C, USART/UART and SPI communications. Meaning, with multiple SERCOM modules on a device, designers can precisely tailor the peripheral mix to their applications.”

Bits & Pieces also asked Andreas Eieland, Atmel Sr. Product Marketing Manager, to describe his favorite SAM D20 features.

“Personally, I like the Peripheral Touch Controller and SERCOM. The PTC is by far the easiest way to add capacitive buttons, sliders wheels and proximity to an application. Plus, there is no need for external components and very little SW overhead, as the module is self calibrating – supporting up to 256 channels,” said Eieland.

“Previously, if you wanted 4 UARTs you had to buy a device equipped with 4SPIs and 4 I2Cs. However, the SAM D20’s SERCOM module allows users to configure the SERCOMs to what they need, meaning devs no longer have to pay for serial interfaces they do not use. Lastly, the SERCOM module is fitted with a multiplexer, offering flexibility in regards to what pin different signals are outputted on, thereby simplifying board layout and reducing board area.”

Meanwhile, Brian Hammill, Atmel Sr. Staff Field Applications Engineer, said he most appreciates the SAM D20’s high end analog to digital converter feature.

“The hardware averaging feature facilitates oversampling, making high resolution at sample rates that apply to many real-world sensor requirements reality without extra software overhead,” he explained,

“Sensor nodes in the Internet of Things (IoT) collectively generate a tremendous amount of data. When you’ve got that much data, it had better be good. And reducing the CPU cycles cuts energy use, especially important in applications that use energy harvesting or are battery powered.”

What’s new in Atmel’s ARM MCU? picoPower!!

The SAM4L it is the first ARM device to feature Atmel’s picoPower technology, and takes low power to a new level.   There are many different characteristics that make a low power device; foremost it is the active power, the wake-up time and sleep mode power consumption. For the SAM4L, this can go down to 90 µA/MHz in active, down to 700 nA in sleep mode and down to 1.5 µs wake-up. Additionally the Cortex-M4 and Atmel’s fast flash technology allows your application to spend a shorter amount of time in active and spend more time in low power modes. All of this significantly reduces the total power consumption for your application.

Atmel SAM4L MCUs redefine the power benchmark, delivering the lowest power in both active (90uA/MHz) and sleep
modes (1.5uA with full random access memory (RAM) retention and 700nA in backup mode). They are the most efficient
MCUs available today, achieving up to 28 CoreMark™/mA using the IAR Embedded Workbench, version 6.40.

Check out this video for more information about picoPower in the SAM4L.  Also, please be sure to follow us on this blog to learn more on how these ARM devices become so power conscious and other neat application tutorials.  Or share, collaborate, and innovate with the other tens of thousands of engineers/builders in the vibrant AT91 community.