Atmel Announces New Intelligent Stepper Motor Driver IC With Integrated Cruise Control; Industry's First One-Chip Solution for Dynamic Headlamp Adjustment Systems

    HEILBRONN, Germany--Feb. 25, 2003--Atmel(R) Corporation announced today the availability of a new intelligent stepper motor driver IC, the ATA6830. The new device is manufactured using Atmel's 0.8-micron BCDMOS process technology, which supports operation of up to 45 Volts. This technology is optimized for applications in harsh environments such as automotive systems.
    The ATA6830 is designed for all automotive applications where a stepper motor is involved (e.g. climate control). The main application will be dynamic headlamp adjustment systems. This new device is tailor-made for cars with Xenon lights, where automatic headlamp adaptation is mandatory to avoid dazzling on-coming vehicle drivers.
    In contrast to conventional stepper motor driver ICs that need a separate microcontroller for the cruise control function, the ATA6830 is a complete one-chip solution as it includes an intelligent travel operation control block taking over this function. This helps to reduce space, which is a critical issue in automotive applications, and software efforts.
    "Up to now, Xenon headlights have been optional parts not available in all cars. With the new ATA6830, car equipment manufacturers will be able to produce competitive dynamic headlamp adjustment systems at much lower costs and with less effort," Torsten Mann, Marketing Director for Automotive and Control products at Atmel, explained. "This will help to increase the market share of Xenon lights and make it become a standard in more and more cars."
    The ATA6830 includes a 2-phase 1-Ampere stepping motor driver in compensated half-step operation, a chopper current control, a unidirectional single-wire bus interface with error feedback and an intelligent travel operation control.
    Furthermore, the ATA6830 incorporates several protection features such as overtemperature warning, supply-voltage supervision and full protection against short circuits. In case of undervoltage or overvoltage, the output stages will be switched off. The reference operation serves for the headlight calibration when the motor is started. The output stages are designed to handle high currents up to 1 Ampere and low saturation voltages. The device also meets the strict automotive qualification demands (protection against conducted interferences, EMC and 2 kV ESD protection) and withstand transients according to ISO/TR 7637/1.
    Samples of the new stepper motor driver IC ATA6830 in QFN28 (7 x 7 mm) package are available now. Pricing starts at US$ 2.10 (10 k).

    About Atmel

    Founded in 1984, Atmel Corporation is headquartered in San Jose, California 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, SiGe, and high-voltage BCDMOS process technologies.

    Note to Editors: Atmel, the Atmel logo and combinations thereof and others contained herein, are trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Terms and product names in this document may be the trademarks of others.

    Information

    Atmel's BCDMOS intelligent stepper motor driver IC ATA6830 information may be retrieved at http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=2946, further Automotive Control product info from Atmel may be found at http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/devices.asp?family_id=606. Requests may be sent via e-mail to literature@atmel.com or by visiting Atmel's website at www.atmel.com.