Quantum rubidium clock exceeds LTE base station requirements

Featuring excellent mechanical robustness and temperature performance, the Microsemi Quantum Rubidium MAC SA.3X family is only 25% of the volume of the nearest competing clock in the same category. This small size, combined with its very low power consumption, makes the SA.3x series suitable for a broad variety of platforms that mount directly on PCBAs, eliminating the need for a heat sink or fan.

The Quantum Rubidium MAC family delivers superior holdover accuracy over extended time periods, exceeding all wireless LTE base station and mission-critical defense infrastructure requirements. The MAC-SA.3x will meet the LTE holdover requirements for several days, a significant feature. This innovative capability far exceeds conventional quartz-based oscillators, which only meet holdover requirements for a few hours at most. This critical difference results in an improved mitigation solution during periods of GNSS vulnerabilities caused by jamming and outage.

“Microsemi has a history of investing in low power atomic clock technology, which has resulted in innovative timing solutions capable of solving challenging technical issues in such key vertical markets as communications and defense,” said Ramki Ramakrishnan, Director of Product Management, Microsemi. “We designed the Quantum MAC SA.3X family specifically to meet essential frequency accuracy and stability requirements in applications that include wireless base stations, wire line network infrastructure, defence systems and test and measurement instruments. These types of systems can benefit from the low-power Quantum MAC SA. 3X that provides the ability to operate across a wide range of temperatures.”