Atmel Extends its FPGA to ASIC Conversion Service for Space Applications

Atmel Provides Radiation Hardened FPGA Replacement with up to 80% Cost Savings and Shorter Lead-times

NANTES, France, May 3, 2005 . . . Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced today a new service to convert existing space FPGA-based designs into cost-effective radiation hardened ASICs with shortened lead-times. This new service generates up to 80% cost and 70% power consumption savings, and offers a pin-to-pin replacement solution for existing space FPGAs, preventing customers the investment of redesigning their board.

With nearly 20 years experience and 1,800 successful FPGA conversions in commercial applications, Atmel offers conversion of any space grade, low-gate-count OTP FPGA design into a rad-hard ASIC for the space market.

While gaining experience in converting space FPGAs into rad-hard ASICs, Atmel has built a consistent methodology that shortens conversion cycle time. It relies on a dedicated pre-diffused matrix and a unique bonding diagram for all conversions using the same package. This allows re-use of the same test card and burn-in board to rationalize the ASIC industrialization, resulting in significant cost savings. Typical 7-week conversion lead-time is achieved from the purchase order to delivery of the first prototype.

Using the company's rad-hard CMOS technologies, the ASICs feature up to 70K usable ASIC gates and a total dose capability of up to 300 Krads. They are available in MQFPF84, 132, 172, 208 and 256, on a 25-minimum order quantity basis. Low NRE charges (10 to 50 K$) can be easily amortized in the flight model unit price when the ASIC is dedicated to constellation satellites.

"Compared to competing FPGAs, our conversion service is more cost effective and retains the power consumption and reliability advantages of ASIC solutions," said Dominique de Saint Roman, Marketing Manager of Atmel Aerospace Product Line.

A broad network of dedicated technical centers supports a simple conversion flow. Budgetary quotation can be obtained within days. The QML V flight models are available 15 weeks from prototype validation.

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®.

Information

Atmel's ARTEFACT product information may be retrieved at: http://www.atmel.com/dyn/general/tech_doc.asp?doc_id=9971