Clock IC provides all critical timing functions on one chip

17th October 2006

Analog Devices

ES Admin

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Analog Devices is introducing what it says is the the industry’s first clock IC to combine low phase noise clock generation with 14-channel clock distribution at jitter levels below 1 picosecond. The AD9516 series integrates an integer-N synthesizer, two reference inputs, a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), programmable dividers, adjustable delay lines and 14 clock drivers, including LVPECL, LVDS and CMOS.

This level of integration replaces several discrete components and, when compared with existing solutions, enables designers to reduce board space and bill-of-materials costs for clocking by more than 50 percent. In addition, integrating the VCO on-chip greatly diminishes risks associated with the failure of discrete oscillators, improving overall system reliability. The AD9516’s combination of integration and performance is ideal for applications such as wireless and wired infrastructure, optical networks, WiMAX base stations, medical imaging, automated test equipment and other instrumentation, that require low phase noise and low jitter in the clock path.

“Global demand for communication services continues to rise, and manufacturers must constantly reduce the size and cost of equipment while maintaining high standards of service and quality,” said Kevin Kattmann, product line director, High-Speed Signal Processing, Analog Devices. “For designers working on wireless base stations, optical networks, and telecom applications, the on-chip VCO eliminates a large discrete oscillator, while the 14 output channels will often provide all of the clocks needed on the transceiver or line card, simplifying space considerations and lowering system costs.”

The AD9516 has five versions, each supporting a specific frequency range. On the high end, the AD9516-0 includes a VCO that tunes from 2.60 GHz to 2.95 GHz. The other parts cover lower frequencies, down to the AD9516-4’s VCO range of 1.50 GHz to 1.90 GHz. Any of the AD9516 family may also be used with an external VCO up to 2.4 GHz. Each device features six LVPECL outputs, which operate up to the maximum VCO rate, as well as four/eight outputs which may be programmed to either LVDS (four outputs max) or CMOS (eight outputs max) levels. In LVDS mode the outputs operate to 1 GHz, and in CMOS mode the outputs operate to 250 MHz.

The AD9516-0/1/2/3/4 devices are packaged in 9 mm × 9 mm, 64-lead LFCSP (lead-frame chip-scale packages) and priced at $10.75 per unit in 10,000-piece quantities. They are sampling now and will be available in full production quantities in December 2006. The AD9516 is well-suited for clocking ADI’s high-speed ADCs and DACs as well as the company’s DDS (direct digital synthesis) products and embedded processors.