FemtoClock® Low-Phase-Noise Frequency Clock Synthesizers

IDT FemtoClock® and FemtoClock Next Generation (NG) devices are advanced, high-performance clock-frequency synthesizers. Employing a simple, low-cost, fundamental-mode quartz crystal as the low frequency reference these devices synthesize high quality clock signals with less than 0.5 ps of RMS phase noise, up to 1.3 GHz.

FemtoClock devices are fully customizable, stand-alone solutions that generate reference frequencies allowing them to replace crystal and SAW oscillators in high-performance applications. This family of devices is often used to replace third overtone and high frequency fundamental (HFF, inverted mesa) crystal oscillators or expensive surface acoustic wave (SAW) oscillators. They are more reliable, cost less, and are more readily available with shorter lead times.

Unlike fixed frequency oscillators, FemtoClocks are a frequency-synthesis technology capable of multiple clock frequencies and more flexibility in any application. Because FemtoClocks are silicon IC-based clock devices, additional clock tree functions unavailable in a single function fixed frequency oscillator can be integrated into a single device. The IDT FemtoClock family delivers a wide range of device packages and capabilities, starting with small 8-pin TSSOP devices that provide one clean, low jitter clock signal. Also available are devices with more integrated functions, multiple outputs, multiple frequencies and other more complex programmable synthesis functions.

IDT’s FemtoClock timing solutions are ideal reference clocks for almost any jitter-sensitive application. They are designed to work in conjunction with other devices on the board that require a reference clock, such as PHYs, switches, ASICs and network processors. The result is a simplified board design and layout, as well as improved time-to-market. Moreover, the FemtoClock family meets the specification requirements of many interface standards, such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet, PCI Express®, Fibre Channel and SONET. While generally optimized for synthesizing reference clock frequencies commonly used in communication applications, there are also a variety of FemtoClock devices with frequencies useful for CPU, memory, logic and other general-purpose clocking applications, including ASICs, DSPs, CPUs and memory; communication (including SONET/SDH and SPI4.2); HDTV video; networking (including 1 Gb, 10 Gb, XAUI and 12 Gb Ethernet); PCI Express; SERDES and PHY reference clocks; serial storage (SAS, SATA, fibre channel 4, 8 and 10 Gb); and wireless infrastructure (including CPRI, RP3).

Video: 5x7 Clock Overview