Pluto gets cooler: C-MAC's new 5 x 3 TCXOs
are small, stable and secure
C-MAC MicroTechnology has introduced a range of 5 x 3 mm temperature compensated crystal oscillators (TCXOs) delivering output stability over operating temperature range to within ±0.2 ppm. Implemented using C-MAC’s pioneering Pluto analogue temperature compensation technology, the new CFPT-9300 is believed to be the first oscillator family to achieve this level of stability from such a small-footprint surface-mount device (SMD).
The CFPT-9300 is aimed at new high-reliability applications such as security cameras and covert radio communications devices, which by their nature must be small and unobtrusive. It will also contribute to reduced component size and weight in applications served by existing high-stability TCXOs, notably mobile and fixed-line communications equipment. For example, its specifications comfortably exceed the Stratum 3 requirement for SDH/SONET telecommunications systems over the operating temperature range from –20° and +70°C.
CFPT-9300 series devices are available in output frequencies from 1.5 to 52 MHz, but are particularly competitively priced for the following standard telecoms frequencies: 12.688375, 12.8, 13, 14.4, 16, 16.367, 16.384, 16.8, 19.2, 19.44, 20, 24, 24.5535, 26, 32.768, 33.6, 36, 38.88 and 40 MHz.
In terms of other specifications, the CFPT-9300 is highly versatile. An operating temperature range from –40° to +85°C can be specified for stabilities from ±0.3 ppm. Frequency adjustment via an external control voltage is available from ±5 to ±40 ppm, as is initial manual frequency calibration by up to ±1 ppm.
Operating voltage can be specified anywhere from 6 V right down to 2.4 V. Square HCMOS, square ACMOS, sinewave and clipped sinewave outputs are on offer. Even the height of the 5 x 3 mm package can be specified either as standard 1.6 mm or as a low-profile 1.4 mm version.
“When our single-chip oscillator compensation technology first appeared six years ago, we called it ‘Pluto’ because it was small and cool,” said Jan Ooijman, Senior Applications Engineer, C-MAC MicroTechnology – Frequency Control Products. “Since then, Pluto has been widely imitated, but still no one else can fit this level of performance into a 5 x 3 SMD. Pluto technology continues to evolve, and it’s still ahead of the game!”
CFPT-9300 devices are manufactured by C-MAC MicroTechnology in the United Kingdom, and are fully RoHS (European Union (EU) Directive 2002/95/EC: Reduction of Hazardous Substances) compliant.
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Notes for Editors:
Headed by Indro Mukerjee, C-MAC MicroTechnology is the world leader in high-reliability electronic systems, modules and components for the automotive, medical electronics, specialised communications and aerospace industries. Our head office is in Wooburn Green, UK, and we have design and manufacturing facilities in the UK, France, Belgium and Canada, with additional dedicated sales and customer support teams throughout Europe, the USA and China. We have built up an extensive intellectual property portfolio and considerable electronics design and manufacturing expertise geared to our target industries. Our products are often found in applications that operate in harsh environments, at extremes of temperature or frequency. The company is divided into two business groups.
Design & Manufacturing Services. C-MAC MicroTechnology offers unrivalled expertise in the design and manufacture of advanced high-precision microelectronics systems. Specialities at our production sites at Great Yarmouth in the UK, Sherbrooke in Canada and Ronse in Belgium include thick-film printing on ceramic and other substrates, surface-mount hybrid circuits, DC/DC power modules, direct-attach flipchip, low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC), chip-on-board (COB), multichip module (MCM) assemblies and PCB assembly. These manufacturing resources are complemented by an integrated design-to-test service encompassing ASIC design as well as analogue, digital, RF, mixed-mode and thermal simulation. Through our independently accredited test house facility, we can carry out product qualification and material evaluation to internationally recognized standards.
Frequency Control Products. C-MAC MicroTechnology has a 70-year pedigree in designing and manufacturing high-performance oscillators and quartz crystals. Our frequency control product range encompasses AT and SC cut crystals, simple packaged crystal oscillators (XOs or SPXOs), voltage controlled crystal oscillators (VCXOs), temperature compensated crystal oscillators (TCXOs), oven controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs), and rubidium oscillators and clocks. Particular specializations include patented ASIC-based high-stability TCXOs, ultrastable OCXOs and SDH/SONET reference oscillators. Manufacturing of quartz-based products at Lincoln, UK, and Argenteuil, France, is supported by design and sales support centres at Harlow and Crewkerne in the UK.
* C-MAC’s proprietary ‘fourth-order’ temperature compensation technology, known as Pluto, allows TCXOs with stability as good as ±0.2 ppm (parts per million) over their operating temperature range – or even better for certain frequencies – to be implemented within a standard 5 mm x 3 mm ceramic package. Although implemented on a silicon die measuring just 3.2 mm x 2.3 mm, Pluto crams in an unprecedented degree of frequency control functionality. The basic function is digitally controlled analogue temperature compensation of output frequency, which is achieved to a high degree of accuracy by applying four orders of Chebyshev polynomials to the signal. Pluto incorporates circuitry that allows either the crystal’s fundamental frequency or its third overtone to be selected. This enables an oscillation frequency range in excess of 10–80 MHz, with output CMOS frequencies of less than 10 MHz achievable by means of an on-chip divider. Pluto-based TCXOs are particularly popular as timing devices for SDH/SONET (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy/Synchronous Optical Networking) Stratum 3 telecommunications applications.
C-MAC’s quality standards and accreditations include: ISO 13485, ISO 9001:2000, MIL-PRF-38534, MIL-STD-883, QS 9000, TS 16949, and ISO 17025 independent test house accreditation.
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