Atmel introduces miniature low-power LIN Family for automotive applications

Atmel has announced the availability of a new LIN family for automotive switch-scan applications and in-vehicle ambient-lighting control. The new devices, Atmel's ATA664151 and ATA664251, include a broad range of on-chip functions that competing ICs can achieve only by combining multiple devices. Available in ultra-small packages measuring just 5 x 5 mm and 7 x 7 mm, these new LIN devices significantly reduce the end-application footprint, cutting down the overall cost and development time for automotive ambient lighting applications. Switch-scan applications used in automotive doors, roof modules, and center stacks benefit from an extremely low sleep-mode power consumption. Three independent PWM signals control the current sources, which are well suited for ambient lighting controlling RGB LEDs. The ATA664151 and ATA664251 LIN devices include an eight-channel high-voltage switch interface with current sources and analog voltage multiplexer to scan switches in automotive applications with currents up to 20mA. The integrated state-change detector allows switch scan applications with extremely low current consumption. The current sources are controlled by three independent PWM signals enabling the device to act as an ambient light circuit to control RGB LEDs. A LIN 2.2 and SAEJ2602-2-compliant transceiver, based on Atmel's third-generation LIN transceiver IP with excellent EMC immunity as well a low-drop 5V voltage regulator with 80mA current capability and an adjustable window watchdog, are also included. The ATA664251 is a system-in-package solution with an ATA664151 chip and an Atmel AVR 8-bit ATtiny167 MCU. The low-power RISC-based ATtiny167 MCU combines 16 kB flash memory, 512 B EEPROM, 512 B SRAM, 16 GPIO lines, 32 general-purpose working registers, 8-bit and 16-bit timer/counter units with compare modes, a USI (universal serial interface), a LIN UART, internal and external interrupts, an 11-channel 10-bit ADC, and three software selectable power-saving modes. This combination enables the development of simple, inexpensive, yet powerful nodes for ambient-lighting and switch-scan applications. Availability and Pricing Samples of the ATA664151 LIN IC in 5- x 5-mm QFN32 packages and of the ATA664251 LIN ICs in 7- x 7-mm QFN48 packages are available now. Pricing starts at US $0.99 and $1.79, respectively, in 10k piece quantities. To support engineers and accelerate a quick start with the IC, Atmel provides complete evaluation kits (ATAK42001-V1 for ATA664151 and ATAK43001-V1 for ATA664251). Atmel