CIE Components in Electronics
Integrated Device Technology has unveiled what it claims is the industry’s first differential MEMS oscillator with 100 femtosecond (fs) typical phase jitter performance and integrated frequency margining capability. The extremely low phase jitter and adaptable output frequency significantly reduce bit error rate (BER) in 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) switches, routers, and other related networking equipment.
The IDT 4H performance MEMS oscillators feature a differential LVDS / LVPECL output and the lowest phase jitter in their product class (100 fs @ 1.875 – 20 MHz and sub-300 fs @ 12kHz – 20 MHz), meeting the low-jitter chipset requirements of high-performance networking applications. Integrated frequency margining capability enables customers to fine-tune the oscillator frequency during operation in the application by up to ±1000 ppm, minimizing BER and facilitating margin testing. IDT’s 4H MEMS oscillators are available in multiple package sizes including the smaller 3225 (3.2 x 2.5 mm) to save board space and cost in densely populated applications.
IDT claims to be the only supplier to offer this combination of MEMS oscillator performance, features, and small package size.
“IDT’s latest series of MEMS oscillators build upon the standard 4M and enhanced 4E oscillator series’ to address the demanding performance requirements of 10GbE and networking applications,” said Christian Kermarrec, vice president and general manager of the Timing and Synchronization Division at IDT.
“Cloud computing and storage infrastructure is growing rapidly with almost 50% of servers and storage clusters shipping with 10GbE. High performance MEMS oscillators enable a lower bit error rate in enterprise computing and storage infrastructure and offer much better reliability at the same time,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS.
IDT’s integrated frequency margining capability enables customers to employ a technique known in the industry as ‘plus-PPM clocking’. This technique clocks systems at a slightly higher frequency, allowing OEMs to reduce BER and resulting packet losses in networking applications. Unlike competitive MEMS devices that only offer fixed frequencies, IDT’s device allows hundreds of offset frequencies that can be generated after the selection of any base frequency up to 625 MHz – even on final production systems. This empowers designers to expedite the development process and optimize system performance.
The 4H MEMS oscillators leverage IDT’s patented piezoelectric MEMS (pMEMS) resonator technology to provide a high-frequency source of performance and reliability. According to IDT these MEMS oscillators offer 40 times better reliability than quartz with no activity dips, no zero-time failures, higher jitter resistance to EMI, and excellent shock and vibration resistance, making them an ideal upgrade solution for traditional quartz-based oscillators.
The IDT 4H family expands upon the 4M and 4E series of MEMS oscillators.
