Precise timing is critical for everything from AI to 5G to IoT

Like the human heartbeat, timing technologies such as oscillators and clock chips are fundamental building blocks of complex circuits, systems, and networks. Without an accurate source clock to derive frequencies and synchronize events and communications, virtually any processor, circuit, or system would fail, like a band with a bad drummer who can’t keep a beat. And as processing workloads and demands continue to grow in line with the digital transformation of so many things around us, so too does the demand for better, more precise timing technology, creating an ever-expanding market. Demand is where companies like SiTime come into play. .

Late last year, SiTime Corp. signed an exclusive agreement with Aura Semiconductor to integrate clock timing chips and the company’s comprehensive oscillator portfolio, including ultra-stable temperature-controlled oscillators and oven-controlled oscillators, to provide one-stop, verified accuracy. announced that it had been concluded. timing solution. OCXOs and TCXOs are widely deployed in many industrial, networking, aerospace/defense systems, and consumer products. These are highly accurate and highly stable timing devices that serve as reference clocks for systems and networks, and at the same time use clock chips such as SiTime, a technology acquired from Aura Semi, from which to derive the required clock frequency. Distribute, or multiply or divide. Achieve critical timing needs at various stages of a circuit or network.

SiTime’s MEMS-based TCXO and OCXO products typically employ microelectromechanical system design architectures to provide more accurate and often more compact timing solutions. This provides better stability, power consumption, reliability, and cost characteristics compared to those based solely on traditional crystal oscillators. solution. In a conversation with Elizabeth Donley, head of the Time and Frequency Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, she explained that the world’s atomic clocks, which maintain virtually all networks, including both mobile and Internet backbones, I explained how important an accurate timing source is in order to build something like . Devices around the world are synced on time. Additionally, Donley notes that high-performance crystal oscillators for these atomic clocks require significant resources to manufacture and operate, whereas mass-produced MEMS-based oscillators have much lower resource requirements and potentially more We detailed its potential to provide competitive accuracy and stability at low cost. .

But precision timing and sophisticated timing circuits aren’t just necessary for the work of nuclear physicists like NIST’s Elizabeth Donley. They are also key enabling technologies for communications network communications (cellular, fiber, high-bandwidth Ethernet, etc.), and network synchronization is key to high availability and redundancy in ultra-high bandwidth commercial and enterprise applications. is. For example, this type of ultra-stable clock device can be used for applications ranging from smart watches (SiTime has around 50% market share of the leading brands) to geolocation for Uber drivers where locating is difficult. It’s being deployed in everything from 5G networks. Update your exact location on the app and map.

MEMS clocks bring a paradigm shift to decades-old design techniques

But perhaps what’s most interesting about this new MEMS-enabled clock technology is that SiTime disrupts the decades-old tradition of crystal oscillators. In fact, the only real barrier to entry for such technology is breaking the old habits of standard crystal oscillator-based designs, and SiTime has a beachhead there. The company now has a portfolio of virtual timing solutions ranging from core precision reference clocks such as MEMS-based OCXOs and TCXOs to more standard silicon clock tree and fan-out solutions acquired through its recent acquisition of Aura Semiconductor. I am. It has been confirmed that they work together.

In terms of competitive position, a clear upward trend continues. In his SiTime’s fiscal 2023 fourth quarter earnings call last night, company CEO Rajesh Vashist said: Although typically sourced from multiple sources, we continue to be differentiated as evidenced by his 85% of revenue in the fourth quarter coming from a single source, which also reflects his SiTime shows the value of ”

Clock timing products may sound like jellybean chips and technology, but today, with cutting-edge applications like AI and the digitalization of virtually everything, design engineers and CTOs rely on highly accurate and reliable clock timing products. There is an increasing critical need for a high heart rate.

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