August 12, 2015 – Silicon Labs (Country Manager: Woon-Dal Paik), a leader in high-performance timing solutions for Internet infrastructure applications, announced the development of a packet network synchronizer clock (product name: Si5348) that offers both industry-leading performance and cost-effectiveness. The Si5348 clock IC is a highly integrated, standards-compliant solution that combines industry-leading jitter performance with the industry's smallest footprint and lowest power characteristics. Hardware designers can utilize the Si5348 clock to implement “clock-tree-on-a-chip” solutions for Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE), IEEE 1588v2, general-purpose frequency conversion for wired and wireless communication infrastructure, broadband networks (G.fast DSL and PON), and data center applications.

SyncE and IEEE 1588 have recently begun to gain significant popularity as methods capable of providing synchronization in packet networks. As these technologies become more widespread, network equipment designers have come to require more flexible and cost-effective timing solutions that can be easily integrated with existing hardware architectures. Conventional network synchronizer clocks rely on inflexible architectures that borrow heavily from legacy Stratum 3 clock ICs. Moreover, legacy Stratum 3 clock ICs are not technology optimized for size, power, or performance.

The Si5348 clock is characterized by being 50% smaller, 35% lower in power, and 80% lower in jitter compared to existing synchronizer products. Thanks to these advantages, hardware designers can simply implement packet network synchronization technology without impacting system-level performance. Because the Si5348 architecture utilizes Silicon Labs' proven 4th generation DSPLL® technology to add industry-leading jitter performance to timing solutions that perfectly meet IEEE 1588, SyncE, and Stratum 3 clocking requirements, the Si5348 clock can be used in various timing card and line card clock architectures. This clock IC is designed to easily interoperate with IEEE 1588 software running on external host processors and to simplify system integration.

James Wilson, Marketing Director for Timing Products at Silicon Labs, stated, “Networks are transitioning from circuit-switched methods to packet-switched methods, which are advantageous in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.” “In addition, as SyncE and IEEE 1588 become more widespread, equipment manufacturers are looking for solutions that can minimize the cost and complexity of adding packet network synchronization to their designs,” he said. “Silicon Labs’ new Si5348 packet network synchronizer clock provides industry-leading jitter performance, frequency flexibility, power efficiency, and footprint, enabling hardware developers to optimize their designs with clocktrion-a-chip solutions.”

In packet timing applications, high-stability oscillators play a key role in defining the overall performance of a network in terms of frequency, time, and phase accuracy. Network topology often determines the type of Temperature-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (TCXO) or Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) required for each node in the network. Since the Si5348 clock supports a general-purpose reference input port, it can be used with TCXOs/OCXOs of any frequency.

As part of the development of the Si5348 product, Silicon Labs has partnered with Rakon to provide an integrated solution for use in a wide range of SyncE and IEEE 1588 applications. “Rakon is the company that offers the industry’s widest portfolio of TCXO and OCXO for SyncE and IEEE 1588 applications,” said Ullas Kumar, Application Marketing Manager at Rakon. “Through our partnership with Silicon Labs, we are now able to provide customers with timing solutions that meet the MTIE and TDEV requirements of ITU-T standards, while allowing for easy application-level optimization regarding frequency, reliability, aging, and cost.”

Product Price and Purchase Information

Factory-pre-programmed Si5348 network synchronizer clock samples and production units are currently available in 9 x 9mm QFN packages. Pricing for the Si5348 varies by output frequency, with unit prices ranging from $7.20 to $9.00 for 10,000-unit purchases. The suggested retail price for the Silicon Labs Si5348-EVB evaluation board is $399, which allows developers to quickly transition from device configuration to detailed performance analysis for generating custom part numbers within five minutes. ClockBuilder Pro software, which enables easy configuration and evaluation of the Si5348, is available for download on the Silicon Labs website. Further information on the Silicon Labs Si5348 clock IC, ordering samples and evaluation boards, and downloading ClockBuilder Pro can be found at www.silabs.com/timing.