MEMS TCXO delivers 25x better timekeeping for GPS

SiTime has announced a 32 kHz MEMS Super-TCXO® that sets a new performance benchmark for timekeeping components in electronics. The SiT7910 is part of the SiTime Endura™ ruggedized family for aerospace and defense applications. Devices that use global positioning system (GPS) signals, such as ruggedized handheld radios, ground vehicles and sensors, can acquire and lock to GPS more quickly and securely with the 25x higher precision of this Super-TCXO.

The TCXO operates at 32.768 kHz frequency with ultra-low power consumption of typically 6.0 µA for use in portable aerospace and defense electronics. It offers ±0.2 ppm frequency stability over -55°C to +105°C temperature range — up to 25x better than legacy quartz technology. The device maintains 1 second of accuracy for one year, versus legacy quartz devices that can only maintain it for one to 14 days.

In a small 2.5- x 2.0-mm package for space-constrained applications, the TCXO delivers best-in-class 20 ppb/g g-sensitivity for resilience in high-vibration environments and ±5 ppm frequency aging over 20 years to maintain device performance over decades. It is also Pb-free, RoHS, and REACH compliant and has an operating supply voltage range of 1.62 V to 3.63 V for design flexibility. Endura enhanced screening flow ensures high quality and reliability.

“The GPS signal is ubiquitous and is a crucial part of national security, everyday communications, financial systems, and power grid operations,” said Piyush Sevalia, executive vice president of marketing at SiTime. “However, it is susceptible not just to environmental disruptions but also to jamming and spoofing. GPS modernization is a multibillion-dollar, multi-year effort to upgrade the system with better features, performance, and security. Instrumental to this modernization is precision timekeeping, which ensures the faster and more secure acquisition of, and locking to GPS signals, even in the harshest of environmental conditions. Our SiT7910 Super-TCXO excels at overcoming these challenges. Like other SiTime products, it is another example of using our MEMS, analog, and systems technologies to create precision timing products that solve the world’s big problems .”

Sevalia continued, “We estimate that the SiTime product portfolio currently addresses a SAM (served addressable market) of approximately $2 billion. With products like Endura Super-TCXO and other recently introduced families, we are well on our way to growing our SAM to $4 billion by the end of 2024.”