Atmel applications journal.Summer 2004

Secure your investment in application code development and re-use your code in any

Atmel device.

IAR Embedded Workbench® supports the Atmel AT89, AT91 and AVR families.

IAR Embedded Workbench® for any Atmel MCU

The state-of-the-art integrated development environment with a highly optimized IAR C/C++ compiler and versatile IAR C-SPY™ source and assembly level debugger. Full support for the AT89,AVR and AT91 (including SAM7) families.

NEW IAR Embedded Workbench for 8051 v 6.10 brings the most compact code to all AT89 users.With all powerful new features introduced, this is the most efficient

C development tool on the market.

IAR visualSTATE® for any Atmel MCU

The only state machine design tool for embedded systems generating micro-tight C code.

From Idea to Target®

Download evaluation versions today, and find out for yourself how easily you can develop and re-use

your application code across different Atmel platforms.

Jim Panfil

Marketing Director,

Microcontollers

Introduction

Over the past six years, the AVR Flash Microcontroller quickly gained acceptance as the 8-bit microcontroller standard. Last month we announced shipment of 500 million devices since the product was introduced in 1997. The AVR is the industries largest selling 8-bit Flash Microcontroller with a market share of over 30 percent. Deutsche Bank Securities indicated that, “Atmel’s 8-bit MCU business has outgrown Microchip in each of the past 4 years.” This revolutionary machine offers designers high performance, low power consumption and dense code. The combination of these features plus the ability to deliver on chip Flash Program Memory at OTP prices made the AVR an instant success. The AVR is well supported with evaluation and debug tools supplied by Atmel or third party tool partners. In 2003 Atmel became the industry’s largest supplier of 8-bit development tools and shipped forty three thousand development systems to customers. The AVR Microcontroller was recently awarded the prestigious Frost and Sullivan award for product differentiation and innovation.

Atmel has a major commitment to growing the breadth and depth of the AVR product portfolio. There are seven design and development locations in the United States and Europe delivering AVR based standard and application specific products to customers worldwide. The AVR product portfolio consists of 58 devices. Atmel plans to introduce two new parts per month in 2004 and recently announced a complete ZigBee solution called Z-Link consisting of the AVR based AT86ZL3201 controller and AT86 RF 210 transceiver. The solution contains the 802.15.4 firmware stack with Mac and Phy layers, a ZigBee protocol stack with Network and security layers, plus an evaluation and reference design.

The 32 pin Mega AVR family was expanded to include new low power 4, 8 and 16 KByte versions. This family uses a new one-wire debug interface called debug wire, which uses the reset line for electrical connection. This means the designer does not have to sacrifice I/O capability to take advantage of the on-chip-debug

system. We are sampling the first AVR with a CAN controller integrated on chip. This device has 15 message objects, supports CAN V2.0A and V2.0B, and will expand our product offering in the industrial and automotive segments.

This edition of the Applications Journal has a special CryptoMemory section and contains new product announcements and applications examples of interest to embedded designers. There are many legacy applications that use the RS-232 standard.

There is an application example of how to implement an RS-232 to USB Bridge. One solution is to make the USB bus appear as an RS-232 interface. A switch can be made with a minimum of effort by using the AT89C5131, a high performance derivative of the 80C51 Family with an integrated full speed USB module and Atmel’s RS-232 Virtual Com Port Library.

Some of the exciting new product announcements in this issue include the AT73C212, a power management device targeted at multimedia applications where camera and sound features are needed. It is designed to regulate power to CMOS or CCD camera modules and sound generators in feature phones. There is increased customer demand for high bandwidth connections. Gigabit Ethernet is the leading technology for switch and networking equipment. The AT79C1020 is the first member of a family of Network Storage products dedicated to support this segment. Tire pressure monitoring is growing in importance to improve road safety. The technology is migrating from commercial vehicles to passenger automobiles. The ATA5756 is a new wireless transmitter IC targeted at battery powered tire pressure monitoring systems. The device has low active current consumption and can be used in modules mounted on vehicle wheel rims. The device enables continuous transmission of tire pressure data.

There are an increasing number of requests to get a free subscription of the Atmel Applications Journal. It is easy to subscribe. Here is how you do it. Click on the Atmel web site:

http://www.atmel.com/journal/mail.asp and give us your delivery address.

pg. 1

pg. 17

pg. 23

pg. 33

pg. 50

R

SM

Cheung and Ngai Honored

for the Fastest Growing

Distributor and the

Number One Sales Team

in Asia Pacific

Pictured above:

Hurman Cheung –Vice President, TLG Electronics Ltd.; Jim Panfil – Director Microcontroller Marketing, Atmel; and Tim Ngai – Managing Director, Atmel Asia. Hurman and Tim accept awards on behalf of their respective organizations as the Fastest Growing Distributor and Number One Sales Team in the Asia Pacific region. They doubled sales in FY 2003.

Congratulations on a job well done.

New Gigabit Level 2 Networking

Ethernet Switch Targets Network

Connectivity Market

Atmel has just released the AT79C1020, the first of a new family of Network Storage products for the Network Connectivity market. The AT79C1020 Level-2 Gigabit Ethernet Switch has a multi-port MII/GMII interface that supports various speed requirements of 10/100/1000 Mbps. The device is "linkable" to make higher level ports with standard interface that can seamlessly connect to Gigabit PHY. It is fully compliant with IEEE 802.3ab CSMA/CD. AT79C1020 is available for sampling to the customers for integration in their gateway and network switch products.

AT79C1020 is manufactured in low power, cost effective 0.18-micron CMOS technology. It is capable of offering a smooth network migration to a natural upgrade of network capacity through a glue-less connection to the other Gigabit and Fast Ethernet products.

“We have identified increased customer demand for high-bandwidth connections, Gigabit Ethernet has become the leading technology for NIC, switch and networking equipment. An important trend in networking is the migration of packet-based technology from Local Area Networks to Metropolitan Area Networks. Atmel’s AT79C1020 is the first member of a complete product family for the Network Storage products market,” said George Perlegos, Atmel’s President and CEO.

AT79C1020 also provides packet switching functions between Multi-port Ethernet ports designed for SOHO (Small Office Home Office) application. It can easily expand the network by "linking" multiple switches. The Gigabit Switch integrates flow control for duplex and backpressure for half duplex. Speed and duplex mode autonegotiation is done through the MDIO for providing serial management data signal. AT79C1020 on-chip

packet buffer supports a Store-and-Forward switching approach that eliminates the need for additional RAM chips as packet buffers. This device supports a wide range of SOHO applications such as standalone home switches, firewall appliances, IP phones, media converters, wireless and wired gateway routers and wireless access points.

"Atmel's switches provide our customers unmanaged configurations ideal for cost-sensitive Gigabit low port count switch systems, wireless, wired firewall routers segment and well suited for point-to-point and mesh network topologies.” This product provides easy installation, reduced power consumption and lower network cost. Atmel's new Network Storage Product Business Unit is committed to provide solutions in Data Storage, Network communication and connectivity,” said Mehdi Bathaee, Atmel’s Network Storage BU’s Managing Director.

AT79C1020 samples are available and priced at $8.95 per 10,000-unit. Atmel also provide reference design to selected customers.

A new high performance, low voltage GMR pre-amplifier product family has been designed by Atmel’s Network Storage Products Business Unit. Total shipment for disk drives in 2003 was over 260 million units. Recent industry data indicates that the total available market for mobile storage products in quarter ending in December 2003 was 16.3 million units. The number of [disc drive] units being shipped will increase due to new innovative applications for mobile disk drives. Mobility and product differentiation will allow disk drive companies to tap into new markets like video, gaming, camera, and music. The 3.3V and 5V high performance series read/write Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) pre-amp, supports up to 500 Mb/s data rate, ideal for 0.85”, 1.0" and 1.8" hard disk drives. The devices are available in a one-channel AT78C6001 and two-channel AT78C6002 both with similar capabilities and functions. Both devices support the GMR pre-amp, designed for use with 4-terminal magneto-resistive recording heads.

AT78C6001 and AT78C6002 provide low noise to the GMR head amplifier which is ideal for mobile hard disk drive companies manufacturing 0.85”, 1.0” and 1.8” form factors. Additionally, the devices have integrated capacitors, which minimize the designer’s need for external components. Both GMR pre-amps are programmable through serial port interfaces. Therefore, Atmel’s high performance GMR pre-amplifiers provide lowest signal-to-noise ratio for clarity and channel.

AT78C6001 and AT78C6002 provide GMR ESD protection structure within the reader, which protects the reader heads from static charge without performance degradation. These devices provide GMR read bias current control, write driver, with programmable write current and pre-emphasis programmable thermal asperity detection and correction. AT78C6001 and AT78C6002 are fully characterized and production ready.

AT78C6001 and AT78C6002 are available immediately for customer evaluation. Atmel will provide samples, evaluation board and firmware in addition to technical support. Both devices are available in a 24-pin TSSOP package and it can also be available in variety of other packages based on customer’s requirement. The pricing is based on volume and shipment forecast.

Atmel® Corporation joined the EPCglobal˙ Hardware Action Group (HAG), which is developing the standard for the next-generation UHF RFID specification. Especially the supply chain management market will benefit from this standard, as it will drastically improve the tracking visibility of goods. Founded in October 2003, EPCglobal is a non-profit joint venture of the standard organizations EAN International˙ and the Uniform Code Council (UCC˙). The worldwide acting group,successor of AutoID/MIT, has more than 180 members, including among others such as Wal-Mart®, Unilever®, CocaCola®, the US Department of Defense (DOD), Benetton® and many major RFID solution providers.

The UHF RFID standard to be developed will include EPC code numbers stored in a tag. The standard specifies that code numbers will be sent via Internet to an ONS (Object Name Service) database that produces an address. The ONS then can match the EPC to a server providing comprehensive information about the object. This means for supply chain management systems that users will have permanently available, up-to-date tracking information of their goods moving through the retail supply chain.

"We are excited to announce that Atmel will shortly submit a proposal for the standard," said Michael Fislage, Atmel's RFID Marketing Manager. "This proposal will address the requirements and performance needs of the retailers and

manufacturers implementing EPC in the supply chain, and will provide EPCglobal users interoperability, read/write field programmability, unique performance and global use."

Footnote

AutoID/MIT = The Auto-ID Center is an academic research project headquartered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with labs at five leading research universities around the globe.

DOD = US Department of Defense

EPC = Electronic Product Code

ONS = Object Name Service

HAG = EPC's Hardware Action Group

FID = Radio Frequency IDentification

UCC = Uniform Code Council

UHF = Ultra High Frequency (860 - 960 MHz)

Very Low-Current Transmitter ICs for Tire-Pressure Monitoring Applications

Two new UHF ASK/ FSK transmitter ICs from Atmel are optimized for use in battery-powered Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) modules. The ATA5756 is designed for applications in the 315MHz range (North America), while the ATA5757 is dedicated for 433 MHz (Europe), but can also be operated at 448 MHz as typically requested for the Korean market.

Thanks to their very short settling time and low active current consumption, the new TPMS ICs help to drastically reduce the total current consumption and thus to extend the modules' life time. This is mandatory for TPMS applications since TPMS modules mounted on the rim of vehicle wheels, transmitting continuously tire pressure data to the vehicle's body, must guarantee an overall life time of ten years.

The ATA5756's and the ATA5757's settling time is less than 0.85 ms (typically), thus saving battery power especially in TPMS sensor boards. This makes the devices also well suited for PEG (Passive Entry Go) key fobs where quick reaction times on protocols is a main requirement.

The typical current consumption during transmis-

sion mode (PA ON) is 8.1 mA with a typical output power of 6 dBm. During power-down mode, the typical current consumption is as low as 1 nA.

To extend the module's lifetime, TPMS systems also require, when operating at very low temperatures, low operation voltages of 2.0V with flexible transmission duty cycle modes. In contrast to competing devices that are only capable of 2.1V operation at low temperatures, Atmel's transmitter ICs ATA5756 and ATA5757 provide guaranteed 2V operation at -40 degree Celsius/F.

The 3-wire-compatible interface allows connecting additional devices, such as an LF receiver, in parallel to the microcontroller ports, thus enabling flexible TPM sensor board designs. Conventional TPMS transmitter ICs without 3-wire- compatible interface need additional ports at the microcontroller.

Another disadvantage of conventional TPMS transmitter ICs is that their oscillation margin is not sufficient, which may cause the quartz to fail, resulting in a complete breakdown of the sensor board. To avoid this and to ensure proper detection of the XTO amplitude, the effective series resonance resistance of the XTAL is defined at 150 Ohm maximum, and the oscillation margin has been increased. The negative resistance of the XTO is specified with -1100 Ohm.

The devices use state-of-the-art 13 MHz crystals for operation which allow small crystal packages. The VCO is locked at 24 x fXTAL (315 MHz) and at 32 x fXTAL (433.92 MHz), respectively.

The PLL transmitter ICs can be used in ASK and FSK systems with 20 kBaud Manchester or 40 kBaud NRZ coding schemes. In FSK applications, only seven external passive components need to be applied. The PLL loop filter as well as further PLL and VCO peripheral elements are fully integrated.

Atmel offers these new transmitter ICs in small-outline TSSOP10 packages, whereas competing devices come in larger packages.

Samples of the new TPMS transmitter ICs ATA5756 and ATA5757 small-outline TSSOP10 packages are available now. Pricing starts at US$1.10 (10 k).

Atmel bridges the gap to next-generation phones and PDAs with the introduction of the AT77C104B FingerChip™ fingerprint sensor optimized for mobile hand-held devices such as cell phones, smart phones or Personal Digital Assistants. The AT77C104B is the perfect choice for hand-held device makers wishing to increase the added value of their product, while minimizing the cost and integration efforts of a biometric solution. Access protection, password replacement, data encryption, profiling and theft prevention will easily become added-value features on next-generation devices with the integration of Atmel’s FingerChip.

The sensor integrates new 8-way navigation and click functions for menu scrolling and item selection. This eliminates the need for space consuming, sometimes troublesome mechanical navigation modules. Once the FingerChip is integrated into a device, only a 1.6 mm by 9.5 mm sensor area remains visible, making it the smallest visible sensor area on the market today. The AT77C104B is an SPI output fingerprint sweep sensor providing a high-quality 500 dpi fingerprint

image. It utilizes a unique patented method for imaging the entire finger by "sweeping" it across the sensor. Successive images are captured and specific software is then used to reconstruct the fingerprint.

The AT77C104B operates within a voltage range of 2.3V to 3.6V, draws a maximum of only 6 mA during fingerprint acquisition and less than 10 uA in sleep mode, making it an ideal fit for battery-powered hand-held devices.

Capitalizing on a proven technology already used in consumer applications, its high robustness is another asset that meets constraints faced by

portable devices. Designed to operate between -20 and +70 degree Celsius, withstand more than 4 million swipes and resist electrostatic discharge, shocks or sweat, the AT77C104B sensor is a true guarantee of reliability.

“While designing this sensor, we paid particular attention to the most important parameters requested by mobile device manufacturers,” says David Richard, Worldwide Biometrics Marketing Manager at Atmel. “Low power consumption to maintain long battery life, high resistance to usual environmental challenges that can affect mobile devices and multiple packaging options will make this product simple for our customers to use. The AT77C104B also provides the additional benefit of replacing space-consuming navigation buttons while still allowing robust designs on the final product. And the price is attractive too, starting at less than $6 for high-volume orders.” he adds.

Samples of the AT77C104B and evaluation kits are now available. Pricing depends on the packaging option.

The new AT90CAN128, an 8-bit AVR® Flash microcontroller with extended Controller Area Network (CAN) capabilities, combines 16 MIPS processing speed with a rich feature set, and is perfectly suited for many CAN networking and industrial applications, including factory and building automation, medical equipment, marine networking and print media.

The AT90CAN128 integrates in a single chip the features of the existing mega128 and the already proven V2.0A/V2.0B CAN controller used in the Atmel CANary microcontroller family. The CAN controller can handle 15 independent message objects, programmable on-the-fly. With a 16 MIPS AVR RISC-engine, 128-Kbyte Flash program memory, 4-Kbyte RAM and 4-Kbyte on-chip EEPROM, AT90CAN128 can tackle the most demanding industrial control applications.

A large portion of the AT90CAN128 processing speed and memory remains available for the application while a full higher layer protocol stack (CANopen, DeviceNet™ or J1939) runs on the chip. An interrupt accelerator engine informs the

CPU of critical messages without running a software scan routine, minimizing the overhead impact on real time event applications.

A highly flexible In-Application Programming capability, via CAN, UART or SPI, allows remote programming and field upgrades. Atmel offers a library of In-Application Programming routines to customers wanting to build their own bootloaders, reducing overall development time and thus time- to-market.

AT90CAN128 peripherals include 16-bit timers with enhanced Pulse Width Modulation capabilities, a powerful 10-bit/8-channel A/D converter and several serial interfaces. A wide operating voltage range (2.7V-5.5V) plus five low-power management modes optimize the application power consumption.

“Handling a large number of message objects programmable on-the-fly with 16 MIPS is a real benefit for many applications,” said Michel Passemard, Director for the Industrial Control Business Development at Atmel. “This first AVR with CAN controller offers unrivalled feature set to

designers and confirms our commitment to the CAN networking market” he added.

AT90CAN128 is pin-to-pin compatible with the mega128. It is available in TQFP64 and QFN64 packages and in industrial temperature. Samples are available now. Production volumes are expected in June 2004. Pricing for 10,000-unit quantity per year is $7.50.

To aid development, Atmel supplies a CAN physical interface module kit, the ATADAPCAN01 at a cost of $19. This combined with the STK501 and the STK500 provides a full development environment to the user. With the kit, Atmel also provides a C-code drivers library for all peripherals including the CAN-driver and various program examples.

New Power Management

Unit Dedicated to

Camera and Sound Supply

in Feature Phones

The AT73C212 Power Management standard Integrated Circuit (IC) is the latest Atmel IC specifically designed for multimedia section supply in new-generation feature phones. Manufactured on Atmel's low-cost mainstream CMOS process, the AT73C212 is designed to supply and regulate power to CMOS or CCD camera modules, MP3 or polyphonic sound generators, a multimedia coprocessor, an external memory module and a USB interface.

The AT73C212 features a comprehensive set of power supplies required for a mid-level multimedia application where camera and sound features are required. Five linear regulators provide output voltage from 1.8V to 2.8V with a wide range of output current between 10mA to 130mA. A switching converter with integrated FET, provides 300mA at 1.8V or 2.5V, is specifically designed to supply a coprocessor core, often used as a multimedia engine in feature phones. Atmel offers the AT73C212 in a 5 x 5 mm, 32-ball ultra-thin BGA in order to satisfy portable device manufacturers’ minimum space requirements. It is also available in 5 x 5 mm 32-QFN package for reduced number of PCB layers. The AT73C212 is available now mounted on a reference design board or as engineering samples. Suggested resale price is $3.50 per unit in quantities of 1,000.

POP QUIZ: WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU MIX A SMALL BLACK AND WHITE TV WITH THE ATMEL AVR MEGA163? IF YOU’RE A LAB-ORIENTED PROFESSOR, YOU GET A STANDARDIZED, COST-EFFECTIVE VIDEO GENERATOR FOR YOUR CLASSROOM. FOLLOW ALONG AS BRUCE DESCRIBES HOW

HE DID IT.

Reprinted with permission of:

Circuit Cellar®

Issue 150

January 2003