Microchip/Atmel AT91 SoC clock controllers (PMC)
Clock controller support for Microchip's (formerly Atmel) AT91 family of ARM-based microcontrollers and microprocessors, including the SAM9, SAMA5, and SAMA7 lines. These chips are widely used in industrial, IoT, and embedded gear, and the controller here gates and configures the on-chip clocks that the rest of the SoC depends on.
recommendation
It should stay because the hardware is still actively sold by Microchip in 2025 (SAM9X60 is listed as in production, and the SAM9X7 is a newer addition to the family) and the code is under active upstream development, with 2025 patch series adding support for new SoC variants. There is no replacement driver and no sign of deprecation discussion.
repository signals
sources
- spinics.net
A 2025 patch series actively updates drivers/clk/at91 core files, showing ongoing upstream maintenance rather than removal.
- lists.infradead.org
The 2025 linux-arm-kernel thread updates sam9x7 clock support, indicating new SoC enablement still lands in this directory.
- microchip.com
Microchip lists SAM9X60 as 'Status: In Production', so AT91-family hardware covered here was still sold new in 2025.
- microchip.com
Microchip's current SAM9 family page lists active SAM9X7 and SAM9X60 products, supporting continued present-day embedded deployments.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Not an early-exit case: this is kernel clock-provider driver code for AT91-family SoCs. Local shell inspection of the directory and local git log (git -c safe.directory ... log -- drivers/clk/at91) showed continued substantive activity into 2025-2026. The two mailing-list URLs were obtained via web search for AT91 clk patch traffic and show active maintenance/new SoC work; no removal/deprecation discussion surfaced in those searches. The Microchip URLs were obtained via web search, then opened/found to confirm current product-family status and 'In Production' for SAM9X60. Because the hardware family is still sold and upstream work is active, this should be kept, with no obvious replacement driver.