Date: 21/11/2011

MCU form Atmel for RFID operate in 100-150kHz range

Atmel Corporation has made available of its AVR microcontroller (MCU) with an RFID reader block and 16kBytes of in-system self-programmable Flash, available in a 5mm x 7mm QFN package and operating in the low-frequency (LF) range at 100-150kHz. The Atmel ATA5505 is suitable for LF Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) RFID readers and programmers for access control, industrial automation and animal identification applications.

Atmel says the ATA5505 makes building a complete reader an easy process requiring just a few external components and an antenna coil. Using the new device eliminates the need for expensive discrete components such as crystals, which are currently required with competitors' 2-chip RFID solutions.

Since the ATA5505 is the industry's only MCU that features full LF RFID reader functionality within a single package, the required printed circuit board (PCB) footprint is smaller than with competing solutions where the MCU and RFID reader are located in two different packages, claims Atmel.

The Atmel AVR MCU provides 512Byte SRAM, 512Byte EEPROM, 16 general-purpose I/O lines, 32 general-purpose working registers, one 8-bit timer/counter with compare modes, one 8-bit high-speed timer/counter, a universal serial interface (USI), a LIN controller, internal and external interrupts, a 11-channel 10-bit A/D converter, programmable watchdog timer with internal oscillator and three software-selectable power-saving modes. By executing powerful instructions in a single clock cycle, the device achieves throughputs approaching 1MIPS per MHz, balancing power consumption and processing speed.

Availability, Pricing: Samples are available now. Pricing for the ATA5505 in 10,000-piece quantities starts at US $2.61. A demo kit (ATA5505-EK1) in a USB form factor is also available to demonstrate the device with additional components.