Atmel Achieves World First and Significant Biometrics Breakthrough with Introduction of Colored Fingerprint Sensor
New Color Choices Respond to Industry Demand for Creative Designs
GRENOBLE, France, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Atmel(R) Corporation announced today at the 3GSM tradeshow the release of the first colored fingerprint sensor for consumer applications which represents a significant breakthrough in the biometrics industry. Atmel, the first company to design and manufacture in high volume fingerprint sweep sensors, continues to innovate in order to further respond to consumer application requirements and fit with new stylish end product designs.
"Look and feel as well as brand identity are key features of today's consumer mobile devices, such as cell phones or PDAs. Manufacturers want their products to have great designs, as aside from the technical aspects of the device, the way it looks can greatly influence sales," stated David Richard, Atmel's Worldwide Biometrics Marketing Manager. "We are seeing more and more products being launched in all sorts of daring colors. As our technology permits it, we are adopting this trend by proposing matching color options for the sensor. Our customers were limited by the availability of black or gray sensors only, not to mention bi-color sensors, which they found very restrictive for their own product designs," he added. "The biometric sensor should not be a detriment to an attractive product. On the contrary, it remains an important element of the design's ID as it is visible to the user and should blend perfectly with its surroundings."
With this new capability based on Atmel's traditional and proven monochrome sensors, fully-encapsulated in robust packaging already available, mobile device manufacturers can now take the lead and diversify the design of their own products. Virtually all colors are available for bulk orders, at no additional cost.
Atmel also unveils a new packaging option for its FingerChipTM product portfolio, with the smallest visible sensor area once the FingerChip is implemented into the device's casing. From its overall module area of 23 by 5 mm, Atmel's new Chip-On-Board packaging reduces its visible area to 9.5 by 1.6 mm, fitting perfectly with small product configurations. As opposed to traditional molded packages, the Chip-On-Board features a substrate area that extends beneath the casing, thus preventing any perspiration-induced corrosion to the motherboard.
The Chip-On-Board packaging can be interconnected to the motherboard through either zebra/elastomer connections or flex cable, which facilitates positioning of the sensor inside the casing. Its thickness is 1 mm maximum for the silicon plus 0.6 mm for the substrate.
The new, optimized Chip-On-Board packaging and the availability of colors are applicable to the top selling AT77C101B parallel output sensor and the newly introduced AT77C104B SPI output sensor.
The new packaging will be available in April 2004. Pricing for the AT77C101B and AT77C104B SPI sensors is less than $6 for high-volume orders, regardless of the packaging and color options.
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: Atmel, the Atmel logo and combinations thereof are registered trademarks, and FingerChip is a trademark of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Tablet PC is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other terms and product names in this document may be the trademarks of others.
Information
For further information on Atmel's biometrics, go to http://www.atmel.com/products/Biometrics/
Press Contacts
Sylvie Mattei, Communication Manager, Atmel Grenoble
Tel: +33 4 76 58 30 25, E-mail: sylvie.mattei@gfo.atmel.com
Veronique Sablereau, Corporate Communications Manager -- Europe
Tel: +33 1 30 60 70 68, E-mail: veronique.sablereau@atmel.com
Clive Over, Director of Public Relations -- USA and Asia
Tel: +1 408 451 2855, E-mail: cliveover@atmel.com
CONTACT: Sylvie Mattei, Communication Manager of Atmel Grenoble,
+33 4 76 58 30 25, or sylvie.mattei@gfo.atmel.com; or Veronique Sablereau,
Corporate Communications Manager -- Europe of Atmel Corporation,
+33 1 30 60 70 68, or veronique.sablereau@atmel.com; Clive Over, Director of
Public Relations -- USA and Asia of Atmel Corporation, +1 408 451 2855, or
cliveover@atmel.com
Web site: http://www.atmel.com/
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