Silicon MEMS VCXO Surpasses Quartz

Quartz has been the predominant technology of choice for timing references. Quartz oscillators consist of piezoelectric crystals with analog circuits in ceramic packages. They provide accurate and stable clocks that meet the requirements of most electronic applications. However, they have many inherent limitations, such as: Long lead times and lack of easy availability, due to complex manufacturing Lack of customization due to inflexibility Quality and performance variations over different lots and over different manufacturers Lack of integration

As semiconductors have grown in popularity, electronics manufacturers have turned to Silicon MEMS Timing solutions for their clocking needs. Silicon MEMS Timing solutions provide the following benefits: Better availability and short lead times through semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure Easy customization due to programmability Consistently high quality and reliability Significant integration High performance, particularly for high speed serial interfaces and programmable logic (FPGAs).

In the case of VCXOs (Voltage Controlled Oscillators), the benefits of MEMS solutions become even more evident. Below is a comparison of Quartz based VCXOs vs. Silicon MEMS VCXOs, which shows that MEMS is clearly superior to Quartz.

Quartz VCXO Core Technology RMS Integrated Phase Jitter (12kHz 20MHz) Frequency Offering 10-15 standard frequencies (< 60 MHz) Pull Range 50PPM, 100PPM, 200PPM Pullable Crystals < 1ps

MEMS VCXO All-Silicon MEMS < 1ps

Any frequency up to 220 MHz

25PPM, 50PPM, 100PPM, 150PPM, 200PPM, 400PPM, 800PPM, 1600 PPM < 1% Excellent Configurable

Pull Range Linearity Tuning Slope (Kv) Consistency Drive Strength for Impedance Matching, EMI Reduction Product Coverage

10% Poor Not Available

Limited options for 1.8V, pull range or 3225 package 8-12 weeks for standard device 16 weeks for non-standard device

Any combination of voltage, pull range and package

Lead Time

Samples in 48 hours Production in 3-5 weeks

Learn more about :- Clock Generator , Differential Oscillator , MEMS Oscillator , TCXO