Infotainment/Cluster

Modern infotainment/cluster applications rely on multiple displays, use various interfaces such as USB, PCI-Express and Ethernet, and are increasingly integrated with other domains within the vehicle. As a result, more clocks are needed, with additional requirements such as extended temperature range, high reliability, low jitter, and low power.

SiTime MEMS oscillators offer low jitter, higher accuracy over temp from -55 to 125°C, reliability up to 50x better than quartz crystal devices, and unique EMI features – all in a small package. Our solutions have excellent stability during rapid temperature change (dF/dT) and are resilient against shock and vibration.

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SiTime MEMS Timing Benefits

Complete MEMS clock tree

Spread spectrum oscillators

Low jitter differential oscillators

32.768-kHz XOs and TCXOs

Precision TCXOs

Most robust in real world conditions

150 fs rms jitter, excellent PSNR

Resistant to shock and vibration

Stable over wide temperature

2.2 billion hours MTBF

Integrated MEMS, easy to use

No quartz reliability issues

Reliable startup in cold temp

No cover or shielding needed

Short lead time for any frequency

Infotainment/Cluster Block Diagram

Infotainment/cluster relies on exchanging information. Commonly used interfaces are Ethernet, multiGigabit Ethernet, and PCI-Express. All these interfaces require clocks.

PCI-Express is widely used for on-board, device-to-device data exchange. This requires 100-MHz differential clocks, possibly with spread spectrum to reduce EMI emissions.
Multi-GB Ethernet for board-to-board communications require 156.25-MHz differential, low jitter clocks.

LCD displays are essential for presenting information. They usually require a data stream from the SoC clocked at a certain frequency, set by construction of the display. Some SoCs generate the desired frequency internally, while others require an external clock. Programmability and configurability of the frequency allows using several kinds of LCD displays with the same infotainment/cluster hardware.

In some cases, GNSS and V2X communication are part of an infotainment/cluster system.

MEMS Timing Solutions for Infotainment/Cluster

Devices	Key Features	Key Values
Single-ended Oscillator SiT8924 1 to 110 MHz	Up to -55°C to +125°C ±20 ppm stability 2016, 2520, 3225 packages	High reliability Extended temperature range Small footprint
Single-ended Oscillator SiT9025 1 to 110 MHz	Up to -55°C to +125°C Spread spectrum Configurable rise / fall times 2016, 2520, 3225 packages	High reliability Extended temperature range EMI Reduction
Differential Oscillators SiT9396 1 to 220 MHz SiT9397 220 to 920 MHz	Low jitter: < 150 fs RMS ^[1] ±30, ±50 ppm stability over -40 to +125°C LVPECL, LVDS, HCSL, Low-power HCSL, FlexSwing™ 2016, 2520, 3225 packages	High reliability Low jitter Enables interfaces with demanding jitter requirements, such as PCI-Express and 10 GB Ethernet
Super-TCXOs SiT5386 1 to 60 MHz SiT5387 60 to 220 MHz	±0.1, ±0.2, ±0.25 ppm stability over -40 to +125°C ±1 ppb/°C frequency slope Low jitter: 0.31 ps RMS ^[1] Optional voltage or digital frequency control	High accuracy Excellent frequency stability with fast temp gradients No GNSS signal loss or V2X disconnect due to micro-jumps

¹ 12 kHz to 20 MHz integration range

Key concerns of designers

Reliability
Functional safety
High temperature requirements
Fast system startup time required (usually < 100 ms)
EMI

SiTime advantages

All SiTime devices offer the following advantages over quartz crystals, which are particularly important for automotive applications:

Up to 50x better reliability: Apart from reducing the amount of field failures, better reliability translates into a lower FIT rate. This provides better Hardware Safety metrics in an FMEDA, the quantitative analysis required as part of a Functional Safety assessment.
Up to 100x better resilience to shock, vibration and electromagnetic interference, due to the smaller size (0.4 x 0.4 mm) and lower mass of MEMS resonators compared to crystals.
Better frequency stability (down to ±100 ppb) and frequency response to temperature changes dF/dT (down to < 3.5 ppb/°C). These characteristics provide better locking to GNSS and V2X, and reduced connection drops.
SiT9025 features EMI reduction features: spread spectrum and configurable rise/fall times