CMOS oscillator targets consumer applications
1 min read
Silicon Laboratories is throwing its hat into the consumer timing market with a cmos oscillator targeted as a replacement for crystal oscillators.
James Wilson, senior marketing manager, noted: "The Si500 family is an exciting new product which has been in development for three years. It builds on our history of strong innovation within our timing product portfolio."
The Si500 eliminates the quartz resonator, replacing it with a silicon oscillator manufactured using a standard 0.13µm cmos process. The parts, capable of generating any output frequency from 0.9 to 200MHz, are factory programmed and shipped to customers.
"The breakthrough," Wilson claimed, "was coming up with an algorithm which controlled frequency stability with temperature. The stability result is on a par with crystal oscillators."
Using analogue circuitry, the oscillator is compensated for frequency variation due to operating temperature range, initial frequency accuracy, supply voltage change and output load change. The product family supports frequency stability options ranging from ±100 to ±150 ppm, providing customers reliable operation and drop in compatibility with quartz based oscillators.
