According to the company, a global provider of semiconductors for signal processing applications, the AD9513, AD9514 and AD9515 extend output clock rates to 1.6 GHz and feature high integration in a smaller package to eliminate the need for multiple discrete components, save on board space and reduce bill of materials costs.

The ICs offer low jitter performance that can also improve signal-to-noise ratio by 6 to 12 dB in wireless infrastructure, instrumentation and broadband networking systems. “During the IC design cycle, particular attention was paid to the noise contribution of each functional block and to the minimization of each noise source through advanced circuit design and careful physical implementation,” Scott Behrhorst, product manager of Clock and Signal Synthesis, tells APPLIANCE magazine. “Present demands on clock performance have driven jitter requirements below 1 picosecond rms, with corresponding low-phase noise allowance.”

The clock ICs are designed to give the minimum additional phase noise and jitter, also known as the additive phase noise and additive jitter. “The specifications tell how much noise the clock distribution ICs add to the noise of the input clock signal,” says Behrhorst. The clock ICs offer additive jitter as low as 225 femtoseconds. This also provides a performance margin. “If a system needs less than 500 femtoseconds of jitter, and the clock IC is just 225 femtoseconds, then the customer can afford to have higher jitter in other parts of the system,” explains Behrhorst.

Pin-programmability is another feature that the ICs offer. The three ICs feature 4-level logic pins that are used to program divide ratios, phase offsets, delays, and output logic levels. This feature also means that no serial port is necessary for device set up, which makes it easy for designers to drop the new ICs into existing circuits. The only required element for operation is a single +3.3 V supply.

The ICs allow the customer to remove extra components. “You no longer have to rely on five or six ICs plus discrete parts to achieve the desired solution,” says Behrhorst. “The integrated chip removes chances for error by simplifying manufacturing flow—one chip versus many.”