Silicon Labs announces the industry's lowest jitter arbitrary frequency output crystal oscillator

     Silicon Labs has announced the launch of a new family of high-performance crystal oscillators (XO) that provide the industry's lowest jitter and most flexible frequency solutions. The Si54x Ultra Series™ XO provides ultra-low jitter performance down to 80fs for integer or decimal frequency outputs over the entire operating range. These XOs provide users with flexible and variable frequency output and excellent jitter margin for applications including 100G/200G/400G line cards, optical modules, very large data centers, broadband, wireless infrastructure, broadcast video, industrial, test and measurement, and military/aerospace. The Si54x Ultra Series XO is available in an industry-standard 3.2mm x 5mm package with single, dual and quad output options that allow direct pin-compatible replacement of traditional XOs while providing ultra-fast lead times and high reliability.

     Increasing network bandwidth and faster data rates require a reference clock with lower jitter. Clock jitter defines the purity of the clock signal, and since the XO is often used as the local oscillator of the system, a clean low-jitter output means less noise in the system. In some applications, high clock noise may result in unacceptably high bit error rates (BER), transmission failures, or system communication interruptions <200fs RMS) is required. The safest approach for a high-performance system is to use an ultra-low jitter clock source, such as the Si54x XO, in order to get an excellent jitter margin.

     James Wilson, Senior Marketing Director of Timing Products at Silicon Labs, said: "Today's optical networks, hyperscale data centers, and mobile frontload/backload networks are shifting to higher speeds, driving the demand for ultra-low jitter timing solutions. "By selecting Silicon Labs' Si54x Ultra Series oscillator, system designers can have greater confidence in using the industry's most flexible XOs in their applications, while gaining excellent jitter design margin and extremely short product lead times."

     Silicon Labs' PLL-based oscillator architecture enables efficient manufacturing processes and simplified factory programming, eliminating the long lead times and supply chain headaches associated with custom oscillators. Typical XO order lead times from other clock product suppliers can take 10-15 weeks. Silicon Labs, by contrast, keeps its pre-screened XO inventory. When an order arrives, the corresponding amount of reserved stock is programmed to the exact frequency, and each chip undergoes 100% electrical testing before shipping. This optimized supply chain enables Silicon Labs to deliver samples of any frequency XO in 1-2 weeks and achieve volume production in 4 weeks, which is the shortest lead time in the high-performance frequency control industry.

     The Si54x oscillator uses Silicon Labs' advanced fourth-generation DSPLL technology to provide an ultra-low jitter clock source at any output frequency. The series is factory-programmed to support arbitrary frequencies from 200kHz-1.5GHz with a resolution of less than 1ppb. On-chip power regulation provides power noise suppression, which enables consistent, reliable low-jitter operation in noisy environments such as high-speed networks and data centers. The Si54x XO also provides a flexible and reliable direct replacement for oscillators based on low juttered surface acoustic waves (SAW), while providing excellent frequency tolerance and temperature stability. The Si54x oscillator supports all popular frequency output formats, including LVDS, LVPECL, HCSL, CML, CMOS, and dual CMOS.