Atmel Announces High Performance, Highly Secure, Biometric Chipset for PC and Embedded Applications

Atmel Announces High Performance, Highly Secure, Biometric Chipset for PC and Embedded Applications

San Jose, CA, April 7, 2008…Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), announced today the availability of its FingerChip Security Chipset which provides a highly secure, high performance, small and cost effective biometric solution. This new chipset combines Atmel’s highly sensitive and rugged AT77C104 FingerChip fingerprint sensor and the AT91SAM7FP105 FingerChip Security Processor, a dedicated low power, 32-bit based co-processor, a complete biometric solution for PC and embedded applications.

Small size is achieved with the use of a unique embedded biometric matching engine, which achieves exceptional FAR/FRR performance with very small memory footprints and minimal processing requirements. This, combined with the use of low cost CMOS processing and efficient high volume packaging methods for the sensor, offers a cost-effective, fully embedded, biometric chipset.

Privacy, security and convenience. For PC-based platforms, the FingerChip Security Chipset provides the ultimate solution for security and privacy. All biometric processing is on-chip, ensuring that a user’s fingerprint image and template remain private and secure at all times. Any transfer of data is encrypted and subjected to challenge/response algorithms to ensure protection from all methods of attack. The FingerChip Security Chipset supports many Trusted Platform Module (TPM) functions, enabling it to securely authenticate TPM devices with a fingerprint match for embedded applications. In addition the FingerChip Security Chipset adds SPI and UART interfaces, which combined with a full featured API and command set enables biometric authentication to be added easily to any embedded application, and controlled by any small, low cost microcontroller acting as a Host. The chipset is provided with a full reference design for rapid platform integration and fast time-to-market.

High performance, rugged biometric sensor. The Atmel FingerChip sensor utilizes a thermal-based technology, highly sensitive to the slightest variation in fingerprint topographies, making it uniquely able to provide excellent image quality with poor fingers and under difficult capture conditions. The technology also offers industry-leading ESD protection, mechanical robustness and strong fake finger rejection.

Availability

The FingerChip Security Chipset is available now.

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.