Silicon Labs has leveraged its proven DSPLL® technology to create the industry’s first family of clock ICs that support any-frequency synthesis, jitter attenuation and clock distribution at jitter levels of 0.3 picoseconds. This phase-locked loop (PLL) technology uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to move analog PLL functions into the digital domain. The new Si5326/27 and Si5374/75 devices integrate a high-performance, low phase noise VCO, loop filter, phase detector, dividers, input clock selection mux and flexible output buffers on-chip. The design benefit is the elimination of expensive VCXO/VCSOs, discrete loop filters, muxes, clock buffers and level translators.

The Silicon Labs’ proprietary DSPLL technology delivers industry-leading frequency flexibility, jitter performance and PLL integration. The heart of the DSPLL is a low phase noise, high frequency on-chip digitally-controlled oscillator (DVCO) that rivals the jitter performance of the best VCXOs or VCSOs while providing a tuning range that is over three orders of magnitude greater than VCXOs or VCSOs. As a result, one any-frequency precision clock can support a wide range of input/output clock frequencies that would normally require multiple VCXO or VCSO-based PLLs.

The PC-based software utility, DSPLLsim, can be used for device selection, frequency planning, loop bandwidth selection and general device configuration. DSPLLsim is a key sales tool to promote the ease of use and frequency flexibility of the any-frequency precision clocks.

Silicon Labs any-frequency precision clocks address the growing need for frequency-flexible, low jitter clock sources in next generation networking equipment, telecom infrastructure, wireless infrastructure, broadcast video, test and measurement and data acquisition. These products greatly simplify high-speed clock designs, facilitate design reuse, lower system costs, shorten lead times and improve performance in these applications.

The any-frequency capability of the Si53xx dramatically expands the addressable market for Silicon Labs timing solutions. In addition to optical networking line card applications, this new product family expands Silicon Labs’ penetration into several new markets, including wireless infrastructure and data acquisition. Telecom and wireless infrastructure represent the biggest volume opportunities for the any-frequency precision clocks.