Atmel announced the availability of the ATA6602 and ATA6603 multichip modules, extending Atmel's family for LIN applications. These devices are designed for automotive actuator applications typically found in comfort electronics (e.g., window lifter, mirror or seat adjuster) as well as in powertrain applications. Due to their very small size, the ATA6602 and ATA6603 are also dedicated for sensor node applications such as control panels, air quality, rain/sun sensors and many more.

Using a multichip-module approach, these two ICs combine a microcontroller (8-bit AVR) and a LIN system basis chip (LIN SBC) in a single package (SiP, system-in-package) without internal connections. As a result, the ATA6602/ATA6603 ICs offer a high integration level including microcontroller, voltage regulator, LIN transceiver and watchdog in one package covering the complete basic functionality of a LIN node. The ATA6602 integrates the automotive-qualified ATmega88 AVR Flash MCU with 8 KB of Flash memory, whereas the ATA6603 incorporates the automotive-qualified ATmega168 with a Flash memory of 16 KB. The LIN SBCs within the new ATA6602 and ATA6603 modules incorporate the LIN transceiver, an advanced voltage regulator, and a watchdog timer. Thanks to its silent mode, the LIN SBC provides power consumption of 40 microamps with activated voltage regulator. In addition, the LIN SBC provides high immunity against ESD and EMC, various protection functions, and a unique, broad input/output voltage range (-40 to 60V) for the LIN bus pin which is ideal for use in truck applications.

Since the ATA6602 and ATA6603 incorporate AVR microcontrollers with all pins bonded out, Atmel's standard AVR tools can be used during the development phase. This includes, for example, the AVR Studio which is the integrated development environment (IDE) for writing and debugging AVR applications. AVR Studio includes an assembler, as well as a simulator, and supports the integration of the freeware GCC compiler. It can be downloaded for free. For on-chip debugging, the AVR JTAGICE mkII can be used. It is a development and debug tool supporting the debugWIRE Interface, which enables the designers to debug the ATA6602 and ATA6603 on-chip, using only a single wire for the debug interface. A LIN protocol handler is also available. In addition, a LIN software library for GCC and IAR C compiler are available for free. Samples of the new ATA6602/ATA6603 in QFN48 (7 x 7 mm) packages are available now. Pricing starts at US$1.87 (ATA6602) for 10k pieces and US$1.99 (ATA6603) for 10k pieces.