15.03.2005 – 14:12

Atmel Corporation

Atmel Extends Its BCD-on-SOI Foundry Service With Addition of High-Voltage Option to Serve Internet Access and Plasma Display Applications

Heilbronn, Germany (ots/PRNewswire)

- Technology Includes Now DMOS Devices Operating up to 120 V

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a global leader in the
development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions,
announced today that the Company has added a new high-voltage option
to its leading-edge mixed-signal BCD-on-SOI technology, that is
offered as a foundry service to customers. Applications that will
benefit from this new high-voltage option include intelligent drivers
for Internet access (DSL) and plasma displays (flat screen monitors).
Atmel is the only company combining high-voltage capability with the
benefits of SOI technology.

Atmel's current "Smart Power" technology includes 0.8 (0.5) micron
meter CMOS devices with up to 80 V power DMOS transistors on a single
chip. A significant amount of logic or even a microprocessor core
with high voltage components can be integrated on a single device.
Due to a maximum operation temperature of 200 degrees C (392 degrees
F), offering outstanding low noise, and excellent EMI as well as
latch-up behavior, the SMARTIS process is especially suited for
automotive power management applications.

Atmel has now extended its well-proven technology foundry service,
which already includes bipolar LPNP and LNPN transistors as well as
low-voltage CMOS and DMOS devices of up to 80 V, with the
introduction of very high voltage DMOS devices operating up to 120 V.
These new devices are optimized in terms of energy capability and
Rdson resistance, enabling new application areas with high-voltage
requirements. To speed up and simplify the application process for
electronic equipment manufacturers, Atmel can integrate these new
high-voltage DMOS devices, together with the standard devices, into
Cadence(R) Design Kits. Design Kits with the new 120-V option will be
available end of March 2005, with an option to develop EEPROM cells
operating up to 200 degrees C later in the year.

     Footnote
     BCD-on-SOI = Mixed-signal Silicon-on-Insulator technology combining
     bipolar, CMOS and DMOS devices
     CMOS = Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
     DMOS = Double Diffused Metal Oxide Semiconductor
     DSL = Digital Subscriber Line
     EEPROM = Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
     EMI = ElectroMagnetic Interference
     LNPN = Lateral NPN transistors
     LPNP = Lateral PNP transistors

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(SM).

NOTE: Atmel(R), logo and combinations thereof, and others are
registered trademarks, and Everywhere You Are(SM) and others are
trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and
product names may be trademarks of others.

Information:

Information on Atmel's BCD-on-SOI Foundry service may be retrieved
at: http://www.atmel.com/products/BCDSOI/

     Atmel Press Contacts:
     Dr. Susanne van Clewe, Marcom Manager Communications and Automotive
     Products
     Phone:  +49-7131-67-2081, Email:   susanne.van-clewe@hno.atmel.com
     Clive Over, Director of Press Relations - USA and Asia
     Phone:  +1-408-451-2855, Email:   cliveover@atmel.com
     Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager - Europe
     Phone:  +33-1-30-60-70-68, Fax:  +49-7131-67-2423,
     Email:   veronique.sablereau@atmel.com

Web site: http://www.atmel.com

Contact:

Dr. Susanne van Clewe, Marcom Manager Communications and Automotive
Products, +49-7131 67-2081, or susanne.van-clewe@hno.atmel.com, or
Clive Over, Director of Press Relations - USA and Asia,
+1-408-451-2855, or cliveover@atmel.com, or Veronique Sablereau,
Corporate Communications Manager - Europe, +33-1-30-60-70-68, Fax: +
49-7131-67-2423, or
veronique.sablereau@atmel.com, all of Atmel Corporation