industry news
Subscribe Now

eoSemi unveils silicon oscillator technology, announces shipment of first silicon to select customers

Congleton, UK, March 13, 2012:  eoSemi today disclosed further details of its innovative silicon oscillator technology, and announced that it has commenced shipping pre-commercial versions of its first product. The company is working with a small group of key strategic customers and partners.

eoSemi’s ATOC™ (Accurate Timing Oscillator Circuit) technology allows the company to offer all-CMOS silicon alternatives to the costly, bulky quartz crystal oscillators that are used in almost every consumer electronic product. Because its devices can be made using standard semiconductor manufacturing technology, eoSemi’s products are cheaper, smaller, easier to integrate, more robust and consume less power than competing offerings.

“eoSemi has made remarkable progress in commercializing its technology so quickly,” said Mark Sherwood, CEO at specialist industry analyst firm CS &A (www.timing-is-everything.net). “The market has waited a long time for silicon oscillators: it’s a challenging technology with remarkable potential. Now it seems that the launch of commercial products may be closer than we thought possible.”

Ian Macbeth, CEO of eoSemi, commented: “Sampling our first products is a significant milestone: now we are demonstrating the power of our core IP in a context that directly addresses a compelling customer problem. This puts us ahead of our plan in terms of both technology development and revenue generation, which is a tremendous testament to the hard work and talent of our team.” 

ATOC brings together a number of innovations in oscillator design, including proprietary techniques to sense and compensate for changes in temperature and physical stresses within the device. A unique fundamental circuit design allows the oscillator’s output frequency to be tuned instantaneously in real-time, and compensates for drift over the lifetime of the device.

eoSemi’s immediate focus is on the biggest market for its products: handheld battery powered devices such as mobile phones, smartphones and tablets, worth $800M in 2011. This is also the segment that will benefit most from eoSemi’s silicon oscillators: some mobile phone companies have been seeking such technology for over a decade, in an attempt to save PCB area for more valuable functionality and to increase reliability. 

The mobile handset segment is notoriously difficult for new market entrants to break into. eoSemi has therefore put in place an innovative partnership strategy with leading silicon companies, that will give major customers access to eoSemi’s products through established and trusted supply channels. 

The first product to be based on ATOC technology is a 32kHz timing reference circuit aimed at this market. eoSemi has already delivered engineering samples of the chip to key customers: commercial production, in an advanced chip-scale package (CSP) measuring just 1.5mm x 1.5mm, will commence in Q3 2012.

Manufactured using a standard CMOS process, the new device draws just 8µA of supply current in active mode and delivers accuracy down to ±30ppm. This combination of specifications, along with an operating temperature range of -40 to +85°C, means that the timing reference will comply with the system design requirements of major 3G handset manufacturers.

About eoSemi

eoSemi is a world leader in the design and development of all-silicon replacements for quartz crystals. eoSemi’s technology is a unique, defendable innovation that uses standard CMOS processes to reduce the physical size and overall system cost of electronic devices. The company is now poised to revolutionise this market by becoming the leading provider of miniature, silicon-only references and derivative products in a wide variety of applications. eoSemi was founded in 2005 by four experienced semiconductor professionals and is supported by leading equity investment partners. More information can be found at http://www.eosemi.com

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
Apr 25, 2024
Structures in Allegro X layout editors let you create reusable building blocks for your PCBs, saving you time and ensuring consistency. What are Structures? Structures are pre-defined groups of design objects, such as vias, connecting lines (clines), and shapes. You can combi...
Apr 25, 2024
See how the UCIe protocol creates multi-die chips by connecting chiplets from different vendors and nodes, and learn about the role of IP and specifications.The post Want to Mix and Match Dies in a Single Package? UCIe Can Get You There appeared first on Chip Design....
Apr 18, 2024
Are you ready for a revolution in robotic technology (as opposed to a robotic revolution, of course)?...

featured video

How MediaTek Optimizes SI Design with Cadence Optimality Explorer and Clarity 3D Solver

Sponsored by Cadence Design Systems

In the era of 5G/6G communication, signal integrity (SI) design considerations are important in high-speed interface design. MediaTek’s design process usually relies on human intuition, but with Cadence’s Optimality Intelligent System Explorer and Clarity 3D Solver, they’ve increased design productivity by 75X. The Optimality Explorer’s AI technology not only improves productivity, but also provides helpful insights and answers.

Learn how MediaTek uses Cadence tools in SI design

featured paper

Designing Robust 5G Power Amplifiers for the Real World

Sponsored by Keysight

Simulating 5G power amplifier (PA) designs at the component and system levels with authentic modulation and high-fidelity behavioral models increases predictability, lowers risk, and shrinks schedules. Simulation software enables multi-technology layout and multi-domain analysis, evaluating the impacts of 5G PA design choices while delivering accurate results in a single virtual workspace. This application note delves into how authentic modulation enhances predictability and performance in 5G millimeter-wave systems.

Download now to revolutionize your design process.

featured chalk talk

Trends and Solutions for Next Generation Energy Storage Systems
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and onsemi
Increased installations of DC ultra fast chargers, the rise of distributed grid systems, and a wider adoption of residential solar installations are making robust energy storage systems more important than ever before. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton, Hunter Freberg and Prasad Paruchuri from onsemi examine trends in EV chargers, solar, and energy storage systems, the role that battery storage integration plays in energy storage systems, and how onsemi is promoting innovation in the world of energy storage systems.
Jan 29, 2024
12,461 views