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Product category: Standard Logic Devices
News Release from: ON Semiconductor | Subject: NB4N507A
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 1 August 2005

PLL chips drop in
to replace crystal oscillators

The NB4N507A is the first in a series of fully integrated PLL ICs designed to replace expensive crystal oscillators for clock generation in a wide variety of consumer and networking applications

With more than 30 years of experience designing cutting-edge, high-precision, differential timing devices, ON Semiconductor has released the NB4N507A - the first in a series of fully integrated phase lock loop (PLL) ICs designed to replace expensive crystal oscillators for clock generation in a wide variety of consumer and networking applications.

A pioneer of positive emitter coupled logic (PECL) signalling, ON Semiconductor's latest family of PLL ICs offers performance compatible with the most widely used crystal oscillators at a fraction of the cost.

For applications ranging from VGA graphics cards to Fibre Channel clock generation, the traditional method for generating the master clock signal has been to implement a single crystal oscillator.

Historically, crystal oscillators have offered better jitter performance than silicon-based devices.

These canned oscillators are complex to manufacture, and so are relatively expensive and require long lead times - sometimes up to 20 weeks.

ON Semiconductor's NB4N507A is a high-performance silicon PLL that delivers jitter performance comparable to crystal oscillators but offers far more design flexibility, a lower overall cost and greatly reduced lead times.

With accuracy of 100ppm, the NB4N507A is a preferable alternative to crystal oscillators with similar stability.

'ON Semiconductor has developed a superior silicon replacement solution for crystal oscillators', said Bill Schromm, ON Semiconductor Vice President and General Manager of High Performance Analogue Products.

'Utilising a fully differential bipolar design methodology, ON Semiconductor's NB4N507A PLL offers inherent noise immunity and full industrial temperature operation not obtainable by competitive CMOS PLL clock generation devices'.

The NB4N507A generates a clock signal ranging from 50 to 200MHz via an inexpensive reference crystal.

With a maximum root mean square (RMS) period jitter of less than 10ps, it delivers half the jitter (or noise) of competitive silicon PLL products.

Because the NB4N507A is fully configurable, it provides true design flexibility.

For example, a single device can be used to generate different frequencies within a system and can be reused on future designs regardless of changes in timing requirements.

In addition, silicon-based ICs like the NB4N507A are inherently much simpler to manufacture which leads to lower costs and vastly lower lead times.

The NB4N507A is available in a 16-pin SOIC package and priced at $1.50 per unit in 1000-unit quantities.

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