Date: 08/06/2009

MEMS Oscillator from Discera now operate in industrial temp range

Discera has upgraded its MEMS oscillator family called PureSilicon to cover industrial temperature ranges with +/- 50ppm and +/- 25ppm frequency stability. Discera says, its MEMS oscillators offers cost and power advantage over crystal oscillators for the range of applications such as computing, communication, portable and other electronic systems--for both consumer and industrial applications.

Discera's PureSilicon MEMS oscillators are pin-compatible with popular crystal oscillators and have low operating current specs (3mA typ. at 40MHz), while consuming 1uA in standby mode. Discera oscillators are least affected by shock, vibration and fractures that can affect crystal parts. Due to its high reliability and low power MEMS oscillators are natural choice for portable and battery operated applications. Added to this, MEMS oscillators costs 20% less than comparable crystal oscillators. All this makes this MEMS oscillator technology a disruptive tech for crystal oscillators.

"2008 was long anticipated as the crossover year when MEMS oscillators would overtake crystal oscillators on a cost basis. Using industry standard CMOS processing techniques and plastic packaging, MEMS enjoy several important cost advantages over conventional crystal oscillators. As process geometries scale, these cost advantages will only grew more pronounced over time," said Rich Miller, Discera's Vice President of Marketing. "With the addition of industrial temp ranges to Discera's product line, all system manufacturers can now enjoy the cost, power, reliability and lead time benefits of MEMS oscillators."

According to a leading research firm, the market for MEMS oscillators is expected to grow at more 100% per annum through 2013 as this new technology rapidly expands its share of the $3 billion global frequency control market.

Pricing and Availability
Discera's PureSilicon product line includes oscillators that support frequencies from 1 to 150 MHz; supply voltages of 1.8v, 2.5v, 2.8v, 3.0v and 3.3v; and industrial -40° to +85° C. temperature ranges, in addition to -20° to +70° C. extended commercial and 0° to +70° C. standard commercial temperature ranges.

PureSilicon industrial temperature range oscillator samples are currently available with production volumes available in 3Q of this year. PureSilicon oscillators are available in 2.5x2.0mm, 3.2x2.5mm, 5.0x3.2mm and 7.0x5.0mm plastic packages. With +/-25ppm frequency stability over the industrial temperature range, the 1.8v, DSC1018 device in a 5.0 x 3.2mm package is priced at $1.10 /ea. in 1,000 piece quantities.

Discera website is www.discera.com