SAN JOSE, California, May 2 /PRNewswire/ --

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) was recently recognized for its development of the FingerChip(R) fingerprint sensor technology at the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Southeast Asia Industrial Technologies awards presentation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mr. Yang Chiah Yee, Vice President of Asian Sales for Atmel, accepted the award on behalf of the Atmel FingerChip team.

Frost & Sullivan based its selection for this award on Atmel's continuous innovation in its patented fingerprint sensing technology and sensor solutions that enhances user experience with best-in-class false rejection performance and best durability. According to Frost & Sullivan, "This innovation allows for a robust competitively priced fingerprint swipe chip, which can also maintain a high accuracy during scanning and imaging. It is as a result of all these endeavors that Atmel is being recognized as the deserving recipient of the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award in the South East Asian biometrics market."

"We are honored to receive this award from Frost & Sullivan," said Mr. Yee. "The dedication of our scientific, design, and development teams has resulted in an excellent product for the biometric technology industry that sets the standard for high quality and reliable fingerprint sensors for the Asian and global markets."

Biometric technology is rapidly gaining momentum in Southeast Asia, where government agencies and private corporations alike are developing numerous projects ranging from physical access control to logical access for laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Atmel's FingerChip sensor provides a high-quality solution for these developing markets.

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 under difficult capture conditions. The technology also offers industry-leading ESD protection, mechanical robustness and strong fake finger rejection. Coupled with highly optimized matching engine, the FingerChip sensor achieves exceptional FAR/FRR performance and best user experience with minimal memory and processing power requirements.

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.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Consulting Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Growth Partnership Services, Growth Consulting and Career Best Practices empower clients to create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

(C) 2008 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), logo and combinations thereof, FingerChip(R), and others, are registered trademarks, or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Information:

Atmel's FingerChip fingerprint sensor product information may be retrieved at http://www.atmel.com/products/Biometrics/

Press Contacts: Nancy Moore, Marketing Communications Manager Tel: +1-719-540-3262, Email Nancy.Moore@atmel.com Helen Perlegos, Public Relations Tel: +1-408-487-2963, Email: hperlegos@atmel.com Web site: http://www.atmel.com http://www.frost.com

Nancy Moore, Marketing Communications Manager, +1-719-540-3262, Nancy.Moore@atmel.com, or Helen Perlegos, Public Relations, +1-408-487-2963, hperlegos@atmel.com, both of Atmel Corporation