What is a silicon oscillator?

What exactly is it that a silicon oscillator does?

Cutting-edge analog CMOS-IC technology is used in producing our silicon oscillators, enabling them to provide exceptional performance and an MTBF that sets a new record at 1140 million hours (FIT 0.88).

In addition, compared to other oscillators, CHINACHIPSUN silicon oscillators have a resistance to stress and vibration that is thirty times greater, and they have a vulnerability to external electromagnetic fields that is fifty-four times lower. The degradation rate is also ten times slower than other oscillators, which is another advantage.

Accuracy, supply voltage, and size are the four critical factors of silicon oscillators in evaluating which clock source is best suited for a particular application. The accuracy requirements for an application are often determined by the communication protocols employed. For the USB standard, the overall accuracy must be within 0.25 percent. In closed-loop systems, and accuracy of the clock source that ranges from 5 percent to 10 percent or even 20 percent is considered acceptable. These systems do not interact with the outside world.

What does our silicon oscillator provide?

Our silicon oscillators can run on the power provided by a button cell. Our silicon oscillator solutions, which are cutting-edge clocking devices, provide pin-to-pin compatibility with quartz oscillators. It is one of the oscillators’ many advantages. The “Soft Level” function allows for harmonic dampening applied with no additional cost, and the oscillators are both very adjustable and reliable. They also feature a low power consumption and excellent jitter control. Silicon oscillators, like the ones we make, are the finest and most durable solutions for new technological developments.

Advantages of Silicon oscillators:

Silicon oscillators are advantageous because of their low cost and ease of implementation; they may satisfy most of the microcontroller (C) clock needs. Silicon-based timing devices are less vulnerable to vibration, stress, and electromagnetic interference than crystal and ceramic resonators (EMI). Silicon oscillators are more straightforward to operate with than other types since they do not need to be painstakingly matched to timing components or layouts.

The oscillation frequency of silicon oscillators is not generated from a mechanical resonant feature but rather from an internal RC time constant. It allows silicon oscillators to have a very stable frequency. This design shields electronic components built on silicon from the damaging effects of outside forces. Silicon oscillators can better survive the effects of humidity and electromagnetic interference since they do not have exposed high-impedance nodes as conventional oscillators do. Traditional oscillators feature these nodes.

A Comparison Made Between Ceramic Resonators and Crystals as Well as Silicon Oscillators:

The range of voltages often used for the clock supply in microcontrollers is between 1 V and 5.5 V. Supply voltages for silicon oscillators typically fall somewhere between 2.4V to 5.5V.
The intrinsic noise-rejection capabilities, sometimes known as “Q,” of an oscillating element have the potential to influence the clock noise of a system considerably. Crystals, which have high Q values, are required for low-noise oscillator circuits because low baseband noise is required of audio CODECs. Other low-noise oscillator circuits include resonant circuits.
Silicon oscillators, on the other hand, need no additional timing components and occupy the least amount of space compared to other types of oscillators. One and only one external component, a power supply bypass capacitor, is needed for the vast majority of silicon oscillators.

How do silicon oscillators Provide Benefits for LED Lighting?

During the last decade, LED lighting has gone from a concept to mass manufacturing and is currently quickly displacing conventional lighting options in the marketplace. It is possible to reduce the brightness of LED light fixtures while still achieving high levels of energy efficiency and shock and vibration resistance. Fluorescent lights contain harmful compounds like mercury, which is why LEDs are better for the environment. Electronic dimmers and motion detectors/timers are standard components in LED lighting systems. These components interact through a serial cable interface (such as DALI) or wirelessly at low speeds. MCUs or IC chipsets often require an external clock to perform these functions. There are many different kinds of timers on the market nowadays. Many lighting systems use silicon oscillators because of their excellent performance, dependability, and adaptability, as well as the advantages of their supply chain.

Silicon oscillator performance benefits LED systems:

With no glass components, LED lighting systems can withstand stress and vibration better than other types of lighting. Due to their intrinsic sensitivity to stress and vibration, quartz-based references cannot fully benefit from this advantage. Using silicon-based oscillators in challenging mechanical settings is preferred since they have more than ten times higher shock and vibration performance.

The temperature stability of silicon oscillators is another advantage. Since lighting systems have evolved from virtual power networks to dispersed systems connected by communication interfaces such as PLC and wireless, this has become an increasingly crucial element.

Despite all of its benefits, LED lighting’s high cost is still a significant worry. As part of the overall cost assessment, the extended service life of LED lighting helps to offset higher initial expenses, but the importance of dependability cannot be overstated.

Operating silicon oscillators:

Eliminating all of the components connected to the oscillator circuit must be done before you can convert to using a silicon oscillator. In this procedure, it is usual practice to take out one or two resistors in addition to the two capacitors (if these are not included in a resonator package). After the oscillator is positioned, the clock output pin, denoted by OSC1, may be connected to the C clock input (OSC1).

Because a low-impedance square wave created by silicon oscillators may be conveyed across reasonable distances without interference from other signals, positioning these devices on the circuit board is not essential. Silicon oscillators will also have the ability to provide multiple clocks to various portions of the system. The output of a high-speed signal such as a clock would produce electromagnetic radiation if the trace lengths were very long. You may cut these emissions down to a manageable level by inserting a resistor between each clock signal and the clock generator pin.

Conclusion:

Using silicon oscillators in devices subjected to shock or vibrations is advantageous since they lack mechanically resonant parts. Please have a look at the comprehensive selection of CHINACHIPSUN oscillators and services that we provide. Check out the whole list of oscillators, or if you would like, you can ask us for a recommendation tailored to your needs.