Nothing Semi About Semiconductors In Today's Vehicles

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 29 -- Imagine driving in heavy traffic, when all the semiconductor chips on earth suddenly disappeared. You would be in a lot of trouble. Yours and all the other cars around you wouldn't be going anywhere. Today the question isn't "Does my car have a semiconductor," it's "How many?"

Semiconductors -- which we're used to thinking about in PCs, radios, TVs and stereos -- are heavily used in dozens of auto applications. One of the more significant innovations for driving safety is tire-pressure monitoring (TPM) systems, using special-purpose chips made by Atmel Corporation.

TPM systems are required in all cars sold in the U.S. since 2004. They help drivers avoid accidents by warning about low-tire pressure, and make driving a safe, comfortable, and pleasurable experience.

"Chip-based systems, with radio-frequency devices in your tires talking to ones under the dashboard have become essential to helping ensure a smoother and safer ride," says Jeff Katz, Vice President of marketing at Atmel, a leading maker of chips used in TPM systems.

"Tire pressure monitors can make a difference in alerting motorists to problems before they get to where they may have reduced control, an accident or at the very least, are wearing out their tires prematurely."

The TPM systems using Atmel chips in many popular auto brands can precisely monitor all four tires. They measure pressure and temperature by employing radio receivers in the vehicle and four sensor/transmitters mounted in air valves attached to the car's rims.

Today's TPM systems can only give drivers a heads-up that something is wrong, but can't make precise conclusions about what happened and where, says Katz. "We're getting closer to the day when TPM systems can be calibrated for different temperatures and vehicle loads," he adds. "This will allow greater accuracy and not set off false alarms."

Atmel is a San Jose, CA-based worldwide leader in semiconductor design and manufacturing focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets. Atmel semiconductors can be found Everywhere You Are(SM).

                              www.atmel.com