Atmel Unveils Industry's Smallest Laser Diode Driver Solution Supporting HD-DVD/Blu-ray, DVD and CD Format

Heilbronn, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Paddle-up Package for Improved Heat Dissipation

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) announced today the
availability of the ATR0881 laser diode driver IC for use in
combined HD-DVD/Blu-ray, DVD, and CD drives. The ATR0881 is housed
in a 4 mm x 4 mm QFN24 package. This is the industry's smallest
laser diode driver solution and is especially suited for small slim
drives used in notebook computers as well as for half-height drives
in desktop PCs and consumer DVD recorders.

The ATR0881's QFN housing is a lead-free paddle-up package with
the exposed paddle on top to improve heat dissipation. A
bottom-located exposed paddle, as found in conventional QFN packages,
causes difficulties due to its inaccessibility for circuit design,
particularly in optical pick-up products. This design restriction is
eliminated with Atmel's ATR0881.

Although the ATR0881 has 3 outputs for connecting 3 laser diodes
-- a blue (HD-DVD/Blu-ray), a red (DVD), and an infrared (CD) -- it
still fits into the same small 24-pin package used by Atmel's
well-known laser diode drivers for two-output combined DVD and CD
drives.

The ATR0881 is the first of its kind with a serial interface.
Whereas conventional laser diode drivers have a fixed gain between
input and output, the gain of each of the ATR0881's 5 channels can be
individually programmed using the serial interface. As a result, the
ATR0881 is extremely flexible and avoids complete re-designs if the
users' gain requirements change.

The serial interface can also be used to set all parameters of the
integrated oscillator including frequency, amplitude, and
spread-spectrum settings. Current laser diode drivers need up to 6
external resistors and pins to set the oscillator parameters. With
the ATR0881, these additional resistors are not required; thus the
overall bill of material is reduced.

The requirement for oscillator frequency accuracy is very high to
ensure low electromagnetic interference. Due to resistor tolerances,
common laser diode drivers enable a maximum accuracy of +/- 10%. In
contrast, designs using the ATR0881 achieve a frequency deviation of
less than +/- 5% thanks to the laser diode driver's integrated
frequency counter.

Compared to competitor devices, the ATR0881 can optionally be set
to a special synchronization mode, which synchronizes all write
channels to the second channel, thus enabling the generation of very
sharp output pulses for increased data security.

Availability and Pricing

Samples of the ATR0881 in 4 mm x 4 mm QFN24 paddle-up packages are
now available. Pricing starts at US $5.00 in quantities of 10k.

Footnote
DVD = Digital Versatile Disc
HD = High Density
LDD = Laser Diode Drivers
QFN = Quad Flat No Leads

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.

(C) 2007 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), logo
and combinations thereof, and others are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and
product names may be trademarks of others.

Information

Product information on Atmel's laser diode driver IC ATR0881 may
be retrieved at:
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=4191

Press Contacts
Dr. Susanne van Clewe, Marcom Manager Communications and Automotive
Products
Phone: +49-7131-67-2081, Email: susanne.van-clewe@hno.atmel.com
Helen Perlegos, Public Relations -- USA and Asia Pacific
Phone: +1-408-487-2963, Email: hperlegos@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

ots Originaltext: Atmel Corporation
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Contact:
Dr. Susanne van Clewe, Marcom Manager Communications and Automotive
Products, +49-7131-67-2081, susanne.van-clewe@hno.atmel.com, or Helen
Perlegos, Public Relations -- USA and Asia Pacific, +1-408-487-2963,
hperlegos@atmel.com, or Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications
Manager -- Europe, +33-1-30-60-70-68, fax, +49-7131-67-2423,
veronique.sablereau@atmel.com, all of Atmel Corporation