SiTime Revolutionizes Precision Timing with Epoch Platform
SiTime Corporation has announced the SiTime Epoch PlatformTM, designed to solve the most complex timing issues in electronics and disrupt 100-year-old quartz-based technology. The SiTime Epoch Platform is a MEMS-based, oven-controlled oscillator (OCXO) that delivers an ultra-stable clock to datacenter and network infrastructure equipment, unlocking a cumulative $2 billion served addressable market (SAM) in the next decade. Over time, Epoch technology will be extended to other high-growth electronics markets, such as aerospace and defense, industrial controls and more.
Rajesh Vashist, CEO, and chairman of SiTime said, “The release of the Epoch Platform is a pivotal moment for SiTime and the electronics industry. For many years, customers lived with the shortcomings of existing timing technologies because there were no viable alternatives. They compromised on real-world performance, reliability, and power, to name just a few. SiTime’s Epoch Platform changes the game, delivering higher performance and reliability with lower power that was unavailable until now. These benefits are the result of a half-decade of engineering investment and a systems-based development approach that combines MEMS, analog, packaging, and algorithms. Epoch, along with new products introduced in 2020, with more to come, will expand our communications and enterprise annual SAM to $1.3 billion by 2024. We believe precision timing will be a catalyst for innovation in all electronics and will drive our future success.”
Precision timing is critical to network performance and reliability. All nodes in the network must be synchronized in time. For example, all nodes in a 5G network must always be synchronized within hundreds of nanoseconds, which is 10X more stringent than 4G. This level of synchronization must be maintained despite network outages. By delivering up to 2X better performance, 9X smaller size and 3X lower power in applications such as datacenter switches and routers, 5G base stations and core infrastructure, the Epoch Platform sets a new bar in performance and reliability.
A synchronized network relies on multiple, redundant timing sources to ensure continuous operation. One of these sources is an ultra-stable, local oscillator, typically an OCXO, which will “holdover” the network and ensure continued operation when other timing sources are impacted.
