Differential oscillators enable Level 4 and Level 5 ADAS, says SiTime
Automotive differential oscillators from SiTime are claimed to deliver high resilience and reliability to enable Level 4 and Level 5 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) across extreme road conditions and temperatures.
The AEC-Q100-qualified SiT9396 / SiT9397 differential oscillators have a wide operating temperature range of -40 to +125 degrees C. They have ±30 ppm stability, with ±25 ppm or better available on request. Jitter is 150 fs (typical).
They can be programmed from 1.0 to 920MHz and 1.8 to 3.63V and have a mean time between failure of one billion hours.
The small form factor oscillators are provided in a package measuring 2.0 x 1.6mm and can be used in high speed communications in vehicles. Differential output drivers include LVPECL, LVDS, HCSL, low power HCSL and FlexSwing.
According to SiTime, legacy timing technology is one of the weakest links in today’s car electronics. Quartz devices are susceptible to vibration and shock, extreme temperatures and exhibit performance degradation over time, continued SiTime. The SiT9396 /SiT9397 precision timing oscillators are based on resilient silicon MEMS technology. They are designed to perform in extreme conditions and reliable operation of ADAS computers, domain / zone controllers, radar and lidar subsystems, added SiTime.
According to Pierrick Bouley, senior analysts at Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group, the market for radar, camera, lidar and computing for ADAS is accelerating very fast. “With a 13.2 per cent CAGR [compound annual growth rate], we see this market growing from $15.4 billion in 2022 to $28.6 billion in 2027,” he said.
Automotive safety systems integrate multiple sensors and cameras in order to generate data for safe, autonomous operation. According to the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium, a vehicle generates 2Tbyte per hour today, increasing by a factor of 10 – to 20Tbytes per hour by 2025.
ADAS sensor data must be transferred at very high speeds within the in-car network, even in the most demanding environments for timely decisions.
“SiTime’s automotive-grade timing solutions mitigate safety and reliability challenges, delivering unmatched benefits to automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers,” said Piyush Sevalia, executive vice president of marketing, SiTime.
The differential oscillators are sampling now with volume production expected in 2Q23.
