VTOL and Commercial UAVs

VTOL aircraft and UAVs are exposed to harsh conditions such as vibration and shock. They need a ruggedized timing solution that is as tough as the environment in which they operate. SiTime Endura™ ruggedized MEMS oscillators provide robust performance with the best acceleration sensitivity, better phase noise under vibration, and excellent stability over temperature.
SiTime Endura Ruggedized Timing Benefits
Robust in Harsh ConditionsUp to -55°C to 105°C 0.009 ppb/g g-sensitivity 70g vibration survivability 30,000g shock survivability Jitter unchanged under vibration 1 ppb/°C dF/dT temp slope |
Easy to use, simplifies designSmaller package Integrated LDOs and DCXO option Fewer external components needed No derating necessary 0.2 ps/mW PSNR No OCXO headaches with Super-TCXOs |
Higher Reliability2B hours MTBF, <0.5 DPPM No frequency jumps or activity dips No cold start issues 6-sigma process control COTS screened over temp ±400 ppb 20-year aging |
VTOL Aircraft and UAVs Need Robust and Reliable Timing
Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV)/drone technology has been used by the military for some time. Advancements and miniaturization in the electronics, batteries, motors and sensors of UAVs have extended the benefits of the technology to many commercial applications such as agriculture, surveying, aerial photography, remote inspection, search and rescue, and air taxis. Timing solutions that operate reliably in the dynamic environments of UAVs are no longer elusive.
UAVs must operate, navigate and communicate through take off, cruise, and landing, even in air turbulence and adverse conditions. They use novel and complex technologies such as electrical vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). Many functionalities, previously delivered in separate subsystems, are now integrated and are packed into a small space to make UAVs agile.
Delivering stable operation, precise navigation and deterministic communication, while managing power supply noise and board layout, presents a challenge in designing the timing solution. SiTime Endura™ commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ruggedized MEMS oscillators meet these challenges. Ruggedized Endura timing solutions are extremely reliable and remain stable and with low jitter over a wide temperature range and under severe vibrations.
VTOL and Commercial UAVs Block Diagram
SiTime Endura Advantages
Endura COTS ruggedized oscillators are engineered for mission critical aerospace and defense applications that operate in harsh environments.
- Designed for wide temperature operation from -55°C to 125°C and high shock and vibration environments
- Specified, qualified and manufactured using 6-sigma statistical process control and deliver datasheet performance with no derating
- 100% screened with power cycle over the full temperature range to deliver low DPPM
- Customers find that Endura MEMS oscillators operate better than military and Hi-Rel oscillators at commercial price point
Endura MEMS Timing for VTOL and Commercial UAVs
Devices | Key Features | Key Values |
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Single ended oscillators
SiT8944 1 to 60 MHz
SiT8945 60 to 220 MHz
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Differential oscillators
SiT9346 1 to 220 MHz
SiT9347 220 to 725 MHz
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DCXOs
SiT3541 1 to 220 MHz
SiT3542 220 to 625 MHz
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Super-TCXOs
SiT5146 1 to 60 MHz
SiT5147 1 to 60 MHz
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Super-TCXOs
SiT5346 1 to 60 MHz
SiT5347 60 to 220 MHz
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Super-TCXOs
SiT5348 1 to 60 MHz
SiT5349 60 to 220 MHz
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[1] 12 kHz to 20 MHz integration range.
Endura Timing Outperforms Quartz
SiTime devices are typically smaller than crystal devices and can be available in plastic packages. Due to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) being closer to the CTE of a PCB, plastic packages improve the solder joint reliability compared to the ceramic packages required for crystal resonators and oscillators.
SiTime differential oscillators offer state-of-the-art jitter performance.
SiTime Endura products eliminate the headaches of quartz oscillators. They simplify design, reduce problems discovered during verification and qualification, shorten product development and time to certification, support production ramp up and continuous supply, and ease trouble shooting through the life of the product.
Endura SiT5348 Super-TCXO Frequency Stability |
Endura SiT5348 Super-TCXO Phase Noise Under Vibration |
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Endura Best-in-Class-Aging |
Endura Lower Acceleration (g) Sensitivity |
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Endura Timing Outperforms Quartz
▀ SiTime ▀ Quartz |
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Acceleration SensitivityImage
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Mechanical ShockImage
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QualityImage
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Reliability MTBF (Million Hours)Image
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