Atmel Opens New Design Center

    HEILBRONN, Germany--Dec. 7, 2001--Atmel(R) Corp. announced today the opening of a mixed-signal design center in Dresden/Germany as of Jan. 1, 2002. Initially, this group will consist of 10 highly skilled mixed-signal designers, and is expected to grow rapidly. The design center focuses on designs for automotive applications, utilizing Atmel's high-voltage BCDMOS process as well as a new SOI (Silicon On Insulator) process. The addition of the design center Dresden will enhance Atmel's ability to provide comprehensive support for the ever-increasing demands of the automotive market.
    "The Dresden design center will be a valuable asset to our group that focuses on the Automotive market," said Dr. Frank Heinricht, VP and general manager of Atmel's RF & Automotive Division. "Even in otherwise weak 2001, this market segment has shown a good growth. We expect the trend to further increase as car electronics are becoming more and more complex, and high-end features expand into the mass markets. The new Design Center will help us to meet this growing demand."
    The group will design advanced ICs for body electronics, supporting 42-volt power net requirements. This is part of Atmel's strategy to build a standard device portfolio of intelligent drivers and power-supply circuits.
    Karsten Uhde, general manager of the Automotive & Control Business Center, said, "Although this year has shown a difficult business climate for other segments, the demand for electronics in automotive applications seems to be insatiable. As the requirements for automotive silicon designs are significantly more sophisticated in terms of circuit safety, EMV, EMS and quality (compared to consumer or industrial applications), highly skilled design resources are important to provide our customers with state-of-the-art solutions. We are therefore excited that with the addition of the new design center, a highly valuable team joins Atmel. The Dresden region offers a strong base of skilled engineers, supported by excellent infrastructure and politics that encourage further investment into the region. The proximity to automotive customers and suppliers in and around the city makes Dresden a perfect choice."

    About Atmel

    Founded in 1984, Atmel Corp. is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. with manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe. Atmel designs, manufactures and markets worldwide, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and RF semiconductors. Atmel is also a leading provider of system-level integration semiconductor solutions using CMOS, BiCMOS, bipolar SiGe, and high-voltage BCDMOS process technologies.

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    Information

    Atmel's automotive product information may be retrieved at www.atmel-wm.com.