SiTime Corporation announced the SiTime Epoch Platform, designed to solve the most complex timing issues in electronics and disrupt 100-year-old quartz-based technology. The SiTime Epoch Platform is a MEMS-based, oven-controlled oscillator (OCXO) that delivers an ultra-stable clock to data center and network infrastructure equipment, unlocking a cumulative $2 billion served addressable market (SAM) in the next decade. Over time, Epoch technology will be extended to other high-growth electronics markets, such as aerospace and defense, industrial controls, and more.

Precision timing is critical to network performance and reliability. All nodes in the network must be synchronized in time. For example, all nodes in a 5G network must always be synchronized within hundreds of nanoseconds, which is 10 times more stringent than 4G. This level of synchronization must be maintained despite network outages. By delivering up to 2X better performance, 9X smaller size, and 3X lower power in applications such as data center switches and routers, 5G base stations, and core infrastructure, the Epoch Platform sets a new bar in performance and reliability.

A synchronized network relies on multiple, redundant timing sources to ensure continuous operation. One of these sources is an ultra-stable, local oscillator, typically an OCXO, which will “holdover” the network and ensure continued operation when other timing sources are impacted.

However, legacy quartz OCXOs are inherently unreliable and prone to performance degradation in the presence of environmental stressors such as temperature changes and vibration. To date, electronics companies compromised on real-world performance, reliability, size, power, and warm-up time to achieve the one thing that an OCXO delivered – a stable clock reference.

With the Epoch Platform, SiTime is breaking through all these limitations of quartz OCXOs. Epoch delivers 2X longer holdover, even under environmental stressors, enabling telecom and cloud service providers to deliver service continuity in real-world conditions.

Key Features of SiTime Epoch Platform include: Any frequency between 10 and 220 MHz, programmable up to 6 decimal places of accuracy; 8 hours of holdover, up to 12 hours with aging compensation – 2X better than other solutions in real-world environments; ±1, ±3, ±5 ppb frequency stability over temperature; Highest operating temperature range: -40 °C to +95 °C; 2.5, 2.8, and 3.3 operating supply voltage; 3X lower power: 420 mW; 3X better ADEV under airflow: 5e-12 at 10 seconds averaging time; 3X lower aging: ±0.08 ppb/day; 2X faster time to stability – 60 seconds; 9X smaller, 3X lower: 9 mm x 7 mm x 3.73 mm; Digital control with 5E-14 resolution: I²C and SPI interfaces;

Engineering samples of the SiT58xx Epoch Platform are available now for qualified customers. General samples will be available in October 2023. Volume production is expected in early 2024.