Small 32-kHz MEMS TCXO suits wearables, IoT markets

Said to be the smallest, lowest power 32-kHz temperature compensated oscillator (TCXO), the SiT1552 MEMS TCXO lets engineers create designs for wearable electronics and the Internet of Things (IoT) that are smaller and have a longer battery life than is possible with quartz devices. Available in a 1.5 x 0.8 x 0.55-mm chip-scale package (CSP) and typically consuming less than 1 µA, the TCXO is 20% of the size and consumes 50% of the power of comparable quartz devices. Further, its frequency stability of ±5 PPM enables 2 to 3 times longer battery life compared to a 180 PPM quartz resonator.

Based on TempFlat MEMS and analog technology, the oscillator can perform various functions in a system such as reference for real time clock (RTC), sleep clock for connectivity (Bluetooth, WiFi) and heartbeat clock for battery supervisory function. Further, compared to quartz crystals, the MEMS device has 10 times faster startup ( 0.3 ms), 30 times higher shock resistance (10,000 g), and 15 times higher reliability ( 500 x 106 hours MTBF). NanoDrive — a programmable, low-swing output — minimizes power and directly interfaces to the oscillator / RTC circuit in the downstream processor or PMIC. The device operates from a 1.5 to 3.63-V source, allowing use of a coin-cell or super-cap battery backup.